Friday, July 20, 2012

Pizza Margherita...{semi- homemade}

No matter what I try to do to this photo, to make it look better, its just not working! Its one of those photos that you have no choice at night, under a light that is just not gonna do justice to the photo. I made this semi-homemade pizza for myself, just the day before my family arrived back from their vacation, in Italy.

It was the easiest pizza...ever, and I must admit; the TASTIEST!...you know why?...because all you have to do is buy a fresh pizza dough from your local favorite supermarket, that's already in a plastic bag, and it weight 1 lb. and the dough is already risen. Costs about $2.50...and you don't have to do anything else, just spread the dough out on a pizza pan, and I will show you how I made it...and devoured almost the entire pizza by myself.

For the last time...alone in my daughter's house, I decided to go out on the patio with my glass, or two of my favorite Chardonnay wine, and just enjoyed the beautiful night...not exactly standing in this spot...where I took the photo of my son-in-law's creative 'trellis' design, where the beautiful bougainvilleas grow, but no flower at this time!

I am not having much luck with my computer today...or is it with Blogger? Thanks to my dear friend Angie...she wrote me an e-mail, just about an hour ago, which showed that she could not open my blog..."by invitation only"...what's up with that? I corrected it right away...so now its working, again.

Also, I cannot open my new photos that I intended to post for today's post. Lora took the photos at her house yesterday; of the Zucchini Quiche that I made, since I didn't have my camera with me, and I cannot upload it!
Will post it next week! ...so here's my super easy pizza with the 'ready dough'...BTW, I learned this method of actually getting a 'hands on' tutoring from a friend from Naples who was an expert 'pizza guy'...at my workplace at the famous caffe Luna Rosa, on the beach in Delray Beach, Florida. Now, its a chic and trendy caffe, but back in the late mid to late nineties, it was more of a small pizza, and panini place!

Pizza Margherita  
 recipe by; Elisabeth

1 lb.fresh, (not frozen) bread/pizza dough
or your favorite homemade dough
3 or 4 ripe plum (Roma) tomatoes sliced fairly thin
Kosher, or sea salt, freshly ground pepper,
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves of fresh garlic, chopped
crushed red pepper flakes
dried oregano, dried basil
fresh basil leaves for garnish

1/2 to 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

First step: get your pizza pan ready, spray with cooking spray, take dough out of the plastic bag, and place it on the pizza pan...punch the dough down, and spread as much as it allows, leaving a border at the edge of the dough. In a small bowl, add the oil, garlic, the salt, pepper, the dry spices, and brush the dough lightly, with a pastry brush! Let the dough rest for about 30 minutes, and stretch again, leaving a border.

Preheat the oven to 525 degrees F. Also, brush the top of the tomato slices with additional oil, mixed with herbs, or if you prefer, just drizzle plain extra virgin olive oil on top. Place the pizza with the baking rim on a 'pizza stone'...if you have it, if not; it will still work fine. Bake for about 5 minutes...just to get the rawness out of the dough. Take the pizza out carefully; just don't burn your hands. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the dough, carefully put the fresh tomatoes on top of the cheese topped pizza, put back in the oven...lower the temp. to 450 degrees F. and bake for an additional 15 minutes longer, until the tomato gets slightly wilted, and cheese bubbles. The rim will get nicely golden brown, and crunchy!
Slice with a pizza cutter, and enjoy!...perfect pizza...and it really is homemade, because you made the entire pizza by yourself, and just used a 'little shortcut' dough, which saves you time, and waiting for the dough to rise!

You can top your pizza with whatever you have on hand, just a suggestion: which will help you each and every time. Brush your dough with the herb-based olive oil, and pre-bake for about 5 to even 10 minutes, depending on the topping you will use. You will never get a slimey, soggy top, underneath the topping, and will be sure to get a nice crunchy bottom, as well!
Mangia, mangia...Buon Appetito! xo


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42 comments:

Patty said...

Ok...now I am hungry for pizza...that one looks too good for any words!

Angela said...

What beautiful summer colors!

Pegasuslegend said...

I love this kind of pizza and this looks fabulous and seriously making me want some right now!

Kati said...

Nagyon szép lett a klasszikus pizzád:)

lena said...

i'm going out for dinner tonight and now just waiting for everyone to get ready but coming to your blog now, isnt heping me at all..i'm even hungrier..now i just need to hurry them. btw, i', already thinking of making a pizza one of these days and shall take your advice of brushing the crust with herb olived oil.

ping said...

I'm all for making my life easier. And having an occasional store-bought crust/dough is one way to lower blood pressure on crazy days .... even the whole pizza sometimes :D
The pic still looks delicious, even if you aren't too happy with it. Nothing wrong with a pic that can make you drool! Now look what you've done ... I'm suddenly craving for pizza!

Kathy said...

Elizabeth, Great looking pizza…and perfect for a busy day! My grandkids would be so happy if we made pizza when they come visit! Buying the dough makes it a perfect way to do that!

Lyndsey Chapin said...

Oh good...and here I thought it was my computer that wouldn't let me get to this post last night. But I did find out this morning that when I thought I turned off my computer that it really didn't and this morning it said it was lock and only the admin (which is me) could unlock it with a password. Ha! I wish I knew what the password was. AHHHK!@#&*!!

I love this pizza, and I am lucky it is my daughters favorite too!! I used to pick up fresh pizza dough from Publix, then on the label it said to let it rest an hour, so now I have a stand-by quick pizza dough I toss in the bread machine. But hey, if I really don't have to let it rest, I'll start buying it again.

Now what are we going to do about our computers? :D

Katalin said...

Elisabeth, ez a pizza gyönyörű lett!!!

Marina said...

Elisabeth, leaving all computer and photo issues behind, let me just tell you that your pizza looks really-really good: easy yet delicious! And that's what counts in the end...:) This one is my favorite pizza too, just cheese, tomatoes and basil...:)

Michael Toa said...

Hi Elisabeth. I think the photo is just fine and the pizza looks delicious. I still haven't found already prepared pizza dough that I like at my local supermarket, so at the moment, it's either I make the dough from scratch or get the pizza from good Italian restaurant.
Anyway, enough with my ramblings... great looking pizza and no doubt it tastes delicious. Well chilled wine sounds pretty good right now that you mentioned your Chardonnay :)
Enjoy your weekend and hopefully no more computer/blogger problems.

Phong Hong said...

I thought the photo looked great, well, it made me all hungry and craving for pizza. Not a slice, mind you. A whole pizza!

Carmen Anderson said...

Wow looks and sounds absolutely sensational! Your recipe is fantastic and I love your photos. I have eaten Pizza Margherita in italy before but your version definitely looks better. Thanks for the pizza rolling tips! Will definitely try it out soon! Have a great weekend Elisabeth!

Ola said...

what causes that it tastes so well it's the simplicity of the ingredients:)

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Note Etc. said...

your photo is fine, I'm still can look that the color of your Pizza is awesome!

cheers

Jacqueline said...

You are giving me a craving for pizza now. It looks so good. I want pizza!!!

Illéskrisz Konyhája said...

A legegyszerűbb és a legfinomabb pizza! Nagyon jónak tűnik a tésztája! Guszta! Jó lenne, ha itt lenne most előttem... :o)

Gizi said...

Csodálatos ez a pizza, csorog a nyálam, legszívesebben beleharapnák.
Készen még soha nem vettem tésztát, mindig magam készítem, de ez olyan szépen megsült, hogy legközelebb én is vásárolok, és kipróbálom. Drága Elisabeth, a héten nagyon kevés időm volt, de hamarosan válaszolok a leveledre. Puszillak

Elisabeth said...

Lyndsey, half the time I don't remember passwords, so I have to have it written down; otherwise I'm always guessing around. As far as computers go, I either need a new computer, or add more memory to my existing one!

Publix supermarket is where I got the pizza dough from, and the only resting time it requires so you can stretch it some more is when you shape the dough into the pan...let it rest for at least 25 minutes, but during that time you are getting your toppings ready, anyway!

Elisabeth said...

Michael, you can get pizza dough from the good Italian restaurant, as well. All our pizza places...other than Italian restaurants also sell the ready made dough.

Thanks for your concern re: the computer/blogger, its just 'one of those things' that slows me down, but 'that's life'
Hope your weekend is going well!

Elisabeth said...

Thanks to all for your kind comments...just now, I'm able to get to my computer. It's been busy here, and I just didn't want to aggravate myself with computer issues for the weekend.

I got everything under control now, did the 'defrag' cleaned out files and cookies to make more space in my computer.
Hope you all had a wonderful weekend!xo

Zsuzsa said...

Wow, I never saw pizza dough in the store; no doubt it will make its way up to Canada... eventually. I will be on the lookout from now on, it looks great and probably tastes superior to pre-baked pizza crust. I don't always feel like starting the dough from scratch - - what a time saver.

Angie's Recipes said...

I have been trying to avoid making pizza and ice cream lately...not that I don't enjoy them, on the contrary, love them to death! But...how could you stop eating just one or two wedges of pizza or one scoop of freshly made ice cream without craving for more and more....I have gained at least 10kg ever after I started the blog...and my dear Eli, you are not helping me at all with this gorgeous looking pizza! Look at the CRUST! I am dying...

Suchi said...

What a perfect pizza...Elisabeth you are not very happy from the photos, but they sure made me want to make pizza at home right now...:-)

Lizzy said...

This is one dish my whole family adores! I need to make it again soon...and I'm going to try some of your tips :) Ugh, I'm sorry about your posting woes...isn't it amazing how much we've learned about blogging over the past 2+ years. For example, I had no idea what html was when I started! Have a great week...and thanks for the dinner inspiration!!! xo

Emma said...

My favourite pizza Elisabeth! Yours looks so lovely and fresh, just how they're meant to be.

And I hate blogging issues, WordPress has it's share as does my hosting site! So frustrating.

asplashofvanilla.com

Asmita said...

That looks awesome!

Brad said...

Elisabeth, your pizza looks sensational. Under any light. Candle light too.

Swathi Iyer said...

Delicious Pizza Elisabeth, this is beautiful than the store bought one. I am highlighting your recipe of Zucchini in tomato sauce at today's Hearth and Soul Blog Hop.

Elisabeth said...

Wow, Brad...I didn't think about the candle light! Come to think of it, that would be fun to have pizza by candle light, but photo of it might not work too well!

Jane said...

It's been way too long since I made homemade pizza - in fact, that used to be my husband's speciality. Yours is so attractive (don't concern yourself with the 'picture quality' - it looks delicious) A simple pizza is very often the best kind. I'm certain that I could eat the one you made all by myself also :) Blogger was acting up on me this afternoon - for some reason I couldn't upload pics and later it decided to let me - but the wait for each pic to load was ridiculous! Thank goodness it's free or I'd call them and complain, lol!!

Chic & Gorgeous Treats said...

Don't worry about the photo ;). To me it still looks great, but I agree with you. I have had those moments where I didn't have a choice but to snap the food at night. Perhaps it's time for me to make my own light box, that will come in handy for nicer photos when there's limited light. However, I have always been a huge fan of pizza, and margherita flavour, is one of those that I enjoy. Simple and packed with flavour... Hope all is well my friend. I am confused with the Foodbuzz new change, and have filled up the federated media form. Not sure if it will get through though.. oh! well.. Till then, hugggssss

Sissi said...

Elisabeth, the photo looks fabulous and your pizza is more than appetising! The crust looks crunchy, just the way I like it (I am a big fan of the crust and am famous for finishing the crust left by friends who dislike it; sometimes the crust is at least as good as the inside part of the pizza). I never order margherita in restaurants because they never put the good, seasonal tomatoes. Even in my favourite pizzeria the tomatoes are not the best... and margherita is excellent but only with ripe, aromatic tomatoes.
Sorry for commenting only now.

Amelia said...

Hi Elisabeth, your pizza look delicious and tempting. Photo still look good, the color look very nice.

Thanks for sharing the simple pizza, a quickie meal on a lazy day. :)

Have a nice week ahead, warm regards and hugs to you.

mangiabella said...

this looks divine. I love the herbs brushed on the crust, what a simple way to infuse flavor!!! I'm a crust lover and this sounds amazing, and I absolutely LOVE the simplicity of a margherita pizza....tomato, basil, cheese, what more could I need???

Sonia ~ Nasi Lemak Lover said...

I love your quick pizza idea, and it sound really fresh and good!

Tia the Baker said...

there is nothing like a margherita pizza and this one looks wonderful!

Kim Bee said...

This is such a pretty pizza. I love the look of it. I'd admire it for awhile before I ate it. Then I would shove the whole thing in my face. Not gonna lie.

suhaina aji said...

U had the whole pizza by urself... thats great....even my son can have this whole pizza by himself... this pizza looks so easy to make as it requires no sauce..sure will try it one day. the photos looks ok to me..You have done it so perfectly just like the one u get in Pizza hut.Hats off to u dear.

Elisabeth said...

Thank you Suhaina...the pizza wasn't so large, maybe abt. 10 inches.
That was my only dinner. As far as Pizza Hut, here, it is considered a 'fast food' pizza place...would not like to compare my pizza to their 'mass production' of pizzas. I'm sure, in Singapore, their Pizza Hut is more like a gourmet place!

So nice to hear from you Suhaina! Will visit your blog, now!

Elisabeth said...

Ha, ha, ha...you are so funny Kim! You wold admire it before eating it, and shove the whole thing in your face...love it!

Nelli said...

Kedvem lenne beleharapni ebbe a pizzába.Csodálatosak a képek is!:-)