Roma, Birds and Pizza

If you ever need a reminder of how much the American economy sucks all you have to do is come to Europe and experience spending the euro. Ouch.

Yesterday we arrived after a very uneventful flight and got settled into our very adorable little studio apartment just around the corner from the Colosseum. Nap time was in order and when we woke 4 hours later our friends drove us around (it was pouring out). I hate cars and being in one in Rome is never a good idea, it seems, to me unless you are coming home from a late night debauchery, as the only thing more insane than the traffic is trying to park.

Once parked we did a short tour of the old Jewish ghetto, sadly our nap made us late so the famous "everything is burnt and they have an amazing cake" bakery was already closed as it was Shabbos (Friday night) so stores where closed around 3 (just fyi). We did manage to pickup some very expensive baked goods at an Austrian Bakery (also oddly in the ghetto) which I promptly left along with all my guide books and food suggestions at a pizza place later on in the evening (which I hope to return to today and retrieve).

The highlight of the day was walking across the Tiber and seeing this massive swarm of starlings do amazing things. I didn't have my camera with me, but luckily we have You Tube so I was able to find this video of it.

Before our second nap of the day we were able to catch a bite of some OK pizza down the street (as mentioned), nice crust, not too soft or puffing, not to thin, but plain by my standards if of high quality. Then last night we went to this groovy hipster neighborhood - kind of Rome's Lower East Side only more sparse and funky - called Pigneto where we had a birthday meal for our friend Todd at this place called Primo.

One of the highlights for me was an amazing organic Sicilian wine, for 30 E a bottle. The room was fab, the food good, the highlight was a pan fried reconstituted salted Cod on crispy onion infused potatoes and an artichoke ravioli, which alternated between luscious and soft to chewy. The artichoke filling was intensely flavored and very fresh. The entire dish was covered in a generous grating of Pecorino. The highlight for me was the tiramisu, which came in a chocolate cup with a thin layer of chocolate cake at the bottom that was then filled with fluffy rich cream/custard dusted with cocoa. It was the sea salt that gave this tiramisu it's kick, though, and made it stand out from the typical run of the mill tiramisu we are all too familiar with.

All and all an amazing first day. I will get more details about the name of the restaurant and location etc once I shake off my jet lag and reconnoiter with our friends who took us. At the moment everything is a bit of a haze. Espresso is in my near future, enjoy the birds and I'll catch up with you soon. Ciao!

Cheese Curd Pizza

I got to Saxelby's late in the day to find out they didn't have any fresh mozzarella. Poor Anne had been alone all day and was unable to go get it.

So after some debate I decide to buy cheese curds instead! I made a very simple tomato sauce and sprinkled a good 2 cups of cheese curd on top to makes this most gooey and delicious pizza with a new dough recipe that worked out very well.

I've posted another recipe for pizza dough here before at the time I was saying it was my favorite that I had found, well I have a new favorite, in part because it is very easy, the crust is crunchy, not so chewy, but with a nice bread like quality. This recipe can be used for focaccia as well.

Pizza Dough

In a bowl add 2 teaspoons of dry yeast and 1 1/4 cups tepid water.

In the bowl to your upright mixer using the paddle attachment, add 4 cups of flour (all purpose or bread flour) 1 generous teaspoon of sea salt (I like Maldon) and 2 Tablespoons of olive oil.

Turn the mixer on low and add the yeast and water mixture. Increase the speed to medium and in a minute the dough should come together, if it's sticky add some extra flour.

Place the dough in a bowl that has been generously coated in olive oil, cover with a dish towel and let sit in a warm place (an oven that has been turned on for a minute and then turned off is my new favorite place to let dough rise).

When I made this the first time I had to run out and go to yoga so I let it sit way longer than most first rise quick doughs require, I think it was about 4 hours. This is totally anecdotal, but I think the reason this worked so well was because of this long sitting period. At the very least I would let it sit for 2 hours. It will have doubled in bulk.

Punch down the dough, cover and let rise again for another hour. *(If you are making focaccia spread it out onto your desired pan now and cover, when done dimple with your fingers, sprinkle with salt and pepper maybe some rosemary or thyme or savoury and bake the same was as the pizza).

Put a pizza stone in a preheat 500 F oven. The stone should be allowed to get really hot, at least 30 minutes before you start cooking.

Sprinkle corn meal or lightly oil your pizza pan (you could use a cookie sheet as well) spread out the dough and if you have the time let it sit another 10-15 minutes.

Add your toppings, if you use tomato sauce sparingly as you don't want soggy pizza. For the cheese curd pizza above I used a home made sauce with a hot pepper kick and some basil stirred in at the end and topped it with 2 cups of cheese curd.

Bake for 15 minutes or until the edges are brown. Just because the cheese melts quickly don't be tempted to take it out of the oven early or your bottom won't be cooked enough.

Great with cabbage salad and some red wine!