Gourmet Pizza Made Easy Pizza

I can honestly say I never get bored with making or eating Gourmet Pizza. After Thanksgiving we wanted to make leftovers that we’d never had before, something more than a sandwich. With lots of people milling around the house, Turkey Pizza seemed an obvious choice, with the one qualification: how to distribute the Turkey evenly over the pie? Keep your food processor handy!  Cut up and collect enough dark meat for 3/4+ cups, then pulse it with two teaspoons of herbs and spices. We made one batch with Jamaican Jerk Herbs and one batch with Chinese 5 Spices (we had a total of 2 C of meat). Braise the Jerk Turkey loosely and after washing the pan to keep the two flavors separated, braise the Chinese meatballs.  With chopped Garlic, a touch of Tomato Sauce and Shredded Cheeses on top of the pies, we used the loose Ground Jerk Turkey on one pie and the Chinese 5 Spices on the other.  Once served, we found yellow peppers on the Jerk pie and Snow Peas on the Chinese 5 Spices! Our kids took over while we worked on the thanksgiving puzzle and caught glimpses of the Wizard of Oz; they Improvised with the flavors and the outcome was delicious.  It’s great to watch your children cook food and serve it up with pride, even better when it’s during a long weekend filled with family fun and thankfulness.

Alex made Garlic Knots last night; go Alex!  We went out to a concert and were greeted upon our return with hot and toasty, just-from-the-oven Garlic Knots, waiting for our return, yum-yum!  (The fringe benefits of {older} teenagers knowing how to bake!)

Here’s what she did:
She started by preheating the oven to 450 degrees and got to preparing her topping.

The topping can be made with any of the ingredients here and can be as simple as using only the first four, or a combination. The basics are: extra virgin olive oil, diced garlic, pepper and salt. Then you could add cracked red pepper, oregano, sage, rosemary or tarragon to the olive oil + garlic.  You could cube mozzarella cheese or make small bits of Asiago cheese and mix them into the oil too.  Alex used rosemary and added a sprinkle of grated parmesan cheese on top for an extra rich, crispy flavor.

Here’s how you do it:
In a medium bowl add about 1 C of  olive oil, then dice a whole head of garlic (at least 4 tablespoons, don’t be shy!), and add to the olive oil, then sprinkle in salt and black pepper. Now add whichever of the herbs and/or spices you choose and mix this up making sure to crush the herbs against the side of the bowl with the back of your spoon to open their flavors.

Then Alex opened the plastic bag of relaxed pizza dough and gripped a piece of it and pulled up on it until she had a strand long enough to make a Knot (about 5-6″).  She then dipped the dough strand into the bowl of prepared Olive Oil Topping, twisted the dough into a knot, and placed one knot every 2″ or so on a baking pan lined with onto a parchment paper on a baking sheet. (Parchment paper: the essential kitchen tool!) Bake for up to 10 minutes, checking after 5 minutes and removing when golden brown.

These made the perfect late night snack and are easy to prepare in advance in large quantities for parties or picnics. Add a bowl of marinara sauce for dipping and you’ll blush when everyone tells you these are their new favorites.

Happy snackin’!

The reason I love this kit –and the driving force that made it clear to us that we had to bring it together– is because it came out of our personal experiences which so positively influenced our lives. We’ve been going to Holiday Craft fairs around the tri-state area showing everyone how Gourmet Pizza Made Easy makes a terrific holiday gift, and talking with people about its genesis. Making pizza at home has been part of many special dinners for us as a couple and later, as a family… and it’s been heart-warming to share these memories and connect with people over good home-cooking.

Kneading bread is elemental, even when you pick up dough at your local pizzeria (as I often do).  The rolling cutter will help you turn a large dough into three (relatively even-sized) pieces; set the two olive-oiled pieces aside on a plate for pies 2 and 3. Using your finger-tips, spread the 1st dough out –on parchment paper sprinkled with corn meal of course–  and if you like, use a rolling-pin to help make the shape rounder or longer, whichever you prefer.  Making pizza is personal and making pizza at home is a relaxation art!  You take charge of your ingredients, create a variety of food combinations, touch your food and get warm and toasty with your loved ones, be they best friends over for game night or helping the kids with math, …and when they figure out how many 1/2 cups go into one cup, well, that’s tasty, satisfying, and serves so many purposes at once!

Lately I’ve been getting photos of pizzas made with the Gourmet Pizza Made Easy; here is one I got from my friend Benan, it looks delicious!

This was the very first pie they made and now I hear these friends have a sunday-night ‘tradition’…… if two Sundays is long enough to be called a tradition!

Don’t be shy, and enjoy!