Tag Archives: Jen’s Kitchen

Cooking, Family Stories, Food, Jen's Kitchen, Recipes, Sipping Espresso

Homemade Pizza – Sorry Mr. Delivery Man

Here is something my Mom, Greg and I all have in common…we love Pizza.  And pizza in Italy is the best!  Pizza originated in Italy and they have continued to perfect the art ever since.  When my Mom was in town we decided to make our own versions of our favorite pizza’s at home. We had so much fun and Julia even got in on the action.
Rolling out her dough
When I told my uncle our plan to try to duplicate our favorite pizza’s at home he gave us a brief history lesson on the pizza.  As it turns out, pizza started as a flatbread consumed by many people in Europe.  In 16th century this was a common meal sold on the streets to the poor throughout Naples.  It was an inexpensive dish that offered many different types of toppings.  Credit for the first Margherita pizza is given to pizza maker Raffaele Esposito of Naples.  The story is that in June of 1889 to honor the Queen consort of Italy, Margherita of Savoy, he created a “Pizza Margherita” for the Queen (I had to get that from Wiki – History of Pizza) .  This pizza consisted of tomatoes, mozzarella cheese and basil to represent the colors of the Italian flag.  Thank you Raffaele!  Today people around the world enjoy this simple but delicious pizza.
Our own Pizza Margherita

After our history lesson we were ready to prepare dinner.  On the menu were our three favorite dishes.  Diane’s favorite, Pizza Margarita; Greg’s, a Napoli Pizza;  and my go to, Quattro Formaggi (four cheese).
Pizza Napoli
Quattro formaggio
We wanted dinner to be “easy” so we opted for store bought pizza dough.  We will try making the dough another day.  We also don’t have any fancy pizza stones or brick ovens here but we managed to create a crispy crust and pretty darn good pizza.  Here is what we did:
All of the pizza’s started off with the same crust.  Coat the baking pan with a little bit of olive oil so that the dough doesn’t stick.  Instead of rolling out the dough we used our hands to stretch it and work it into a circle for the baking sheet.  Once on the baking sheet we used a fork to poke a few holes in the dough (to prevent bubbles).  Next we drizzled some olive oil and added some sea salt. Below is how to make the different types of pizza.
Drizzle olive oil on the dough
Pizza Margarita
For the sauce use a can of crushed San Marzano tomatoes. Simple is always best!  Next you need to add slices of mozzarella cheese and fresh basil.  Or, you can also choose to add the basil to the pizza after it comes out of the oven.  It’s totally up to you!   Either way you end up with a beautiful red, white and green pizza.
Crushed tomatoes as the sauce
Next, add your toppings
Pizza Napoli
Again, for the sauce simply use a can of crushed San Marzano tomatoes. Next, add slices of mozzarella, provolone and grated parmigiano reggiano cheese.  What makes this a Napoli Pizza is adding acciughe(anchovies) as the final step.  Feel comfortable to arrange them in any pattern you like.
The acciughe (anchovies) – Greg’s favorite
Pizza Quattro Formaggi
There is no need for sauce when making this pizza.  Since the pizza is a four cheese, it does not need any sauce as a base.  Instead, use some olive oil and crushed garlic on the dough.  Our four cheese pizza consisted of mozzarella, provolone, grated parmigiano reggiano and gorgonzola cheese.  Feel free to substitute any or all of the cheeses for your favorite (and if you’re feeling really crazy, make it a five or even six cheese pizza!).
Give spacing for your gorgonzola – it will melt over a large surface
All three pizza’s will cook in under 10 minutes at 425 degrees Fahrenheit.  The trick is to watch the pizza and look for the crust to brown and the cheese to start to bubble.   Once the crust is crispy enough to transfer, remove the pizza from the baking sheet and finish cooking it directly on the oven rack.  This will give it a crispy crust without the brick oven.  When you remove the pizza’s allow the cheese to cool for a few minutes before you cut and serve.
Julia and her Nonna
Jen and her Mom
Julia “rolling” on her own!
I hope you enjoy making pizza at your home.  You can try these or invent one of your own with your favorite toppings.

Buon Appetito!

Cooking, Family Stories, Food, Jen's Kitchen, Recipes

Easy and Delicious Marinara Pasta Sauce

Well, we have heard a lot from Greg so I thought it was time for me (Jen) to give this blogging a go.  I have had a lot of people ask me how to make sauce.  Growing up in an Italian family this was a staple in our house.  I didn’t even know until college that most people buy pasta sauce from a jar!  Sorry, but… yuck.

I am by no means an expert cook but I have had many very talented woman in my life that have taught me a lot.  Until recently everything I know has been taught to me by my nonna (grandma), my mother and my mother-in-law, who are all incredibly talented in the kitchen.

Even though my Mom isn’t Italian she learned from the best Italian cook (my nonna) how to prepare all of my Dad’s favorite Italian meals.  In the beginning of their marriage she made all the foods she grew up eating – good Ohio cuisine.  This consisted of meat and potato cooking such as meat loaf and casseroles.  Don’t get me wrong, all these foods are delicious… just not to my Dad.  It wasn’t until maybe a year or so of eating this food that my Dad admitted he missed his mother’s cooking and my Mom’s path to creating mouth watering Italian dishes began.  One of the best things she learned from my Nonna was how to prepare Sugo (sauce).  My Nonna’s recipe requires a lot of chopping and it is time consuming to make.  Since I have been living in Como I have had the opportunity to learn from another very talented woman, my Zia (Aunt) Claudia.  She recently taught me a quick and easy way to make delicious sugo with ingredients you probably already have in your pantry and refrigerator.  I hope you enjoy the sauce as much as everyone here enjoys eating it.

Marinara Sauce

This should be enough sauce for one pound of pasta (4 to 5 servings).  I would suggest doubling the recipe and putting half in the freezer.  It will save beautifully for about six months.

Simple ingredients you can find anywhere

INGREDIENTS

>Canned tomatoes – can be whole or chopped (must be San Marzano from Italy)
>Four (4) raw cherry tomatoes
>Two (2) Garlic cloves
>Half (1/2) bouillon cube (a quick shortcut to avoid lots of vegetable chopping)
>Extra virgin olive oil
>One (1) pound of pasta (I recommend Delverde or DeCecco)
>Sea Salt
“Put me to work, Mom!”

DIRECTIONS

>Peel two cloves of garlic
>Cover the base of your pot with extra virgin olive oil.  Heat on a low setting and do not adjust temperature.
>Leave the garlic cloves whole to put in sauce (Italians prefer just a hint of garlic flavor). If you prefer a stronger garlic flavor you can chop or mince the garlic.
>Put the garlic in the pot with the heated olive oil and cook long enough to extract flavors.  Be mindful not to burn.
Garlic should be lightly browned

>Add can of tomatoes (must be San Marzano, which is the region in Italy – there are various brands)

Canned tomatoes
>Dice raw tomatoes and add to sauce
Diced, raw tomatoes
Tomatoes added to pot
>Add half of a vegetable bouillon cube and stir
>Add sea salt (approximately a teaspoon… or Italian style, this much)
About this much salt… adjust based on hand size :-)
>Remove the garlic and set aside (it gets added again)
>Blend the sauce with a hand mixer
Blend with hand mixture to get the correct consistency
>Place garlic back in pot
>Let sauce simmer over medium-low heat for approximately 30 minutes
>Finish with a dab of butter

>Remove from heat and serve

Pasta

>Add cold water to the pasta pot with coarse sea salt (my mother always taught me to pour the salt until you finish saying “Father, Son and the Holy Spirit”)
>Boil water as your sauce nears an end
>Place pasta in water
>Cook to a nice al dente – the appropriate time will be listed on the spaghetti package

>Drain pasta water and cover pasta with sauce until it is covered but not drenched

To Serve

>Cover individual pasta serving with sauce
>Drizzle with olive oil
>Add freshly grated parmesan cheese
Buon Appetito