Giant Pizza in Tiny Kitchen

One of the hardest things about a smaller kitchen is that your cooking ego is the same size. When I was really learning and beginning to understand cooking, I was using my mother’s kitchens. When my folks retired, they were able to buy houses with really beautiful kitchens. Lots of counter space to cool cupcakes while making supper and making frosting. My mother’s current kitchen has the luxury of a double oven and a wide array of cast iron cook ware, as well as every spice you would ever need. Her pantry is stocked with things like agave nectar and arborio rice just in case she needs them for a recipe she finds. Her neighbor knows that there’s a 95% chance that, if she is missing an ingredient for something, my mother will have it on hand.

So scaling down to an apartment kitchen is a big change. With about ¼ of the counter space, prep alone can be insane. Limited pantry/cupboard space means I can’t keep ingredients on hand “just in case”. It’s a lot about using what you have left, not buying what you need. I can’t store 5 sizes of dutch oven and a crepe pan. A couple of general sized non-stick skillets have to work for crepes, omelets and searing a roast.

Which brings me to today’s recipe. I was watching an episode of “The Chew” and saw Michael Symon make this Deep Dish Pizza. He called it a casserole because, in his mind, pizza is NY style. I personally don’t care for thin crust that much. I liked the idea of using the cast iron frying pan as the pizza pan. It really helped provide that deep dish flavor and texture.

However, this thing was a freaking mess to make. The easiest part was putting it together to bake. The dough, however, was a frustration. It was EVERYWHERE! While it was mixing, it didn’t just climb the dough hook…it conquered it, absorbed it and planted a flag! Now, it probably had to do with the size of the mixer (Kitchen Aid Classic) or the motor size. If I moved the mixer speed up to 4, the dough would climb up the hook and try to eat the machine. The dough in the bowl would rock the unit so much I was waiting for it to explode. Plus there was this reservoir of unmixed flour in the bottom that had to be incorporated by hand.

Then came the rolling! Due to limited space, one of the things I don’t currently have on hand is a rolling pin. So I used an old Alton Brown trick, a wine bottle. This dough however was so stretchy that it sprung back every time I moved on to another section. I rolled for 40 minutes (about an episode and a half of “Day in the Life” on HULU) until I finally got it to the thickness needed, and used about a cup of flour getting it there. It filled my entire prep counter, and getting into the pan was a true comedic moment. With dough lying across my right forearm, my left hand eased the dough off the counter and scooted the pan under an inch or two at a time. It was INSANE.

But my ego kept saying “You are smarter than this dough! You can make this work!” and it was right, kind of. I did eventually get the dough into the pan and finished the dish. However, if I was smart, I would have realized that this is definitely NOT an easy small kitchen dish. You really need to take the time to pre-plan your spaces. Since cooking shows don’t tend to show you all the chopping and prepping of ingredients, you don’t realize how fast your space disappears while you are sautéing on the stove top while chopping on another surface and rolling on another. I had lots of stacks of paper towels with cooling food on them by the time I was ready to actually put my pizza together.

Should you attempt this yourself, be sure that you have GREAT strength and endurance in your appendages. You will be standing and rolling for a LONG time. Also, try to have a clean, open work space about 3’ by 2.5’ to work the dough in. You will also need another counter devoted to everything else in the dish. Once the dough is in the pan, you can merge the two areas.

So, Let us get to it. The original recipe for Michael Symon’s Deep Dish Pizza Casserole is on the Chew.com, or just click on the link. This was adapted for a small kitchen and the toppings/fillings that were on hand.

INGREDIENTS:

Dough:

· 10 cups AP Flour

· 2 ¼ tbl Kosher Salt

· 1 ¼ tsp Yeast (I used Fleischmann’s rapid rise, but whatever you have on hand is useable)

· 3 ½ cups Warm Water

· Olive Oil (to grease bowl for rising dough)

Pizza:

· 1 jar pasta/pizza sauce (You won’t use the whole jar. I used about 1 ½ cups of Bertolli Tomato Basil sauce)

· 2 tbl Olive Oil

· ½ tbl Butter

· 1 Onion, chopped

· 4 pieces Thick Cut Bacon (I used the America’s Test Kitchen recommended bacon by FarmLand. I have only found it at Alberstons, but use whatever you have on hand. Or leave it out. The toppings/fillings are adjustable to suit your tastes!)

· ¼ cup mushrooms, chopped (I used shitake since I had some)

· 1 package Pepperoni slices

· 4 Meatballs, crumbled (See previous recipe on this blog)

· 1 package Sliced Provolone

· 1 package Sliced Mozzarella

· 1 bag of 5 cheese Italian Blend (or grated parmesan if you’d prefer, the blend already has it mixed in)

· 3 tbl of melted butter mixed with 1 clove of pressed garlic and a pinch of salt.

· Fresh basil for garnish (if desired)

HARDWARE:

· Stand Mixer with dough hook (You can use a large bowl and a spoon/your hands too. But be ready, it is a LOT of mixing)

· Mixing Bowl (a clear bowl with volume markers is recommended to accurately measure rising volume)

· Cast Iron Pan (the original recipe recommends 14”, but I used a 9” one. Any oven safe pan will do, though. The crust may not turn out as crispy without the cast iron skillet)

· Non-stick sauté pan

· Plastic Wrap

· Paper Towels

· Sheet Pan

· Pastry Brush (or small spoon if you don’t have one)

COOK TIME:

· Approx 4 ½ hours straight through. More if you let the dough rest overnight.

HOW TO DO IT:

1. In the bowl of the mixer, combine the yeast in the warm water. Mix it lightly to break up any lumps. Let it bloom about 5 minutes, until it becomes slightly foamy and the water is cloudy.

**TIP: To check if your yeast is still active, mix a tablespoon of yeast in a cup of warm water with a teaspoon of sugar. Let it sit 10 min. If there are no bubbles and/or if the water volume doesn’t increase, the yeast is dead and needs to be discarded.**

2. Combine the salt and flour to the bloomed yeast. Add the flour one cup at a time. Adding it all at once will make for a flour coated kitchen, and a LOT more clean-up. Mix for up to 11 min, or until the dough comes together as one mass and starts climbing the hook.

3. Lightly oil your mixing bowl. Turn the dough out into it and let it proof until it is doubled in size. This should take a few hours (mine took about 3 hours). Cover the bowl with a damp cloth or some plastic wrap while the dough rises. This will prevent the dough from drying out.

**NOTE: When I made this, I skipped this next step. I looked online at different cooking sites/blogs and most of them said that pizza dough did not need to rest overnight. So, I made it anyway without resting. All I can say is LET IT REST OVERNIGHT. I believe that most of the problems I had rolling the dough out was because it was warm, un-rested and extra stretchy. If you skip this, be prepared to work the dough.**

4. After the dough has risen, portion it into seven or eight 9oz balls. Place the portioned dough on a lightly oiled sheet tray (with parchment paper if you have it). Cover the tray with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The dough will be rested and ready to use the next day.

*~*This is your first chance to get some clean up done. Scrub down your work surface and give your mixer a good cleaning. There is probably flour hidden in every crevice. *~*

5. Let your sauce come to room temperature either naturally or via heating on the stove or in the microwave.

6. In a sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil on medium to medium high heat. You want the pan hot but not so hot that the oil is smoking. Add the bacon, cook until crisp.

Remove the bacon onto a thick paper towel with a slotted spoon, leaving the fat and oil behind. Add the ½ tablespoon of butter and the chopped onions. Cook onions until softened, but not fried.

Remove from heat and set aside on some thick paper towels. Once the onions are cool enough to handle, blot them clean of excess oil and fat. Pour out the oil, leaving a lightly oiled sauté pan. Sauté the mushrooms until softened.

7. Preheat your oven to 400 F.

8. On a floured work surface, roll out ¼ inch thick dough. This will use about ½ of your prepared dough if you use a 9” cast iron skillet. Oil your skillet and fit your dough inside, there should be about a ½” overhang of dough. Trim excess with a paring knife and save for another pizza (I have another whole pizza’s worth of dough in the freezer).

9. Add onions to the dough lined skillet. Next, add some of the bacon as a layer. Add your mushrooms, then your crumbled meatballs. Add a layer of pepperoni. Add a layer of Provolone and Mozzarella, alternating slices around the layer. Pour sauce over the cheese, using the back of a spoon to even it out, leaving no dry spots. Top with 5 cheese mixture or Parmesan. Repeat layers until the skillet is full (you should get 2 layers of each topping in a 9” skillet).

10. Once the skillet is full, fold the overhanging crust over to form an edge crust. Pinch the edges of the dough as if you were making a pie crust edge. Brush or drizzle garlic butter over the dough edge with a spoon.

11. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until crust is golden and cheese begins to bubble through the sauce.

*~*This is your second chunk of clean up time. I recommend using this time to scrub down your rolling surface and sauté pan. Cleaning up as you go along will help economize space in your small kitchen.*~*

12. Cool for about 20 minutes.

13. Garnish the top with torn basil and serve.

So after all that sweat and scampering, was it worth it?

Hell yeah it was. Look at all that gooey deliciousness. This is in no way a dieter’s pizza. This is serious cheesy nirvana. I would totally make this again, but I would be smarter about my time management.

The great thing about a pizza like this is that you can make it with whatever is left over in the fridge/pantry. Spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, alfredo sauce and chicken? Awesome! Peppers, black olives and goat cheese? Try it! Be bold and creative. Pizza is a fantastic way to try different flavor combinations with some delicious outcomes. If you make this, I would love to hear what you changed! Post a comment with your take on this dish!

See everyone next time from the mini-kitchen!

Meatballs from the Mini-Kitchen

I know what you’re thinking. Really? Yet ANOTHER food blog? Do you people really have nothing better to do than take pictures of food? Well, in my case, not really. My favorite hobby is cooking. It’s what I look forward to when I leave my work. What am I going to make tonight?

I can say that, in a way, I am a bit of a food fetishist. Not THAT way, but food can be seductive and sexy. The way that a perfectly cooked scallop melts over your tongue is like music. The buttery richness and fresh sea taste that fills your nose as you breathe in while it sits and melts in your mouth. It’s edible sex…and not in that fruit roll-up panties kind of way.

Now, what I cook isn’t always sexy. Most of it is actually comfort food. But then again, a perfect lemon pound cake can be quite exquisite. My hope with my posts here is to show that delicious, comforting and yes, even sexy food can be made in a small kitchen.

My biggest issue with most cooking shows it that they are always in a perfect culinary world. There are people behind the scenes doing all the chopping, cleaning and all the messiness that we have to deal with on the other side of the TV or computer. There are just some dishes that are NOT achievable in an apartment or tiny kitchen. I’ve had to learn how to cook in a much more scaled down environment, with a limited pantry, refrigerator and counter space. It has not been an easy transition, more on that next time.

Today, we start with a simple recipe. This is a basic meatball recipe that is great for multiple meals. It was adapted from Anne Burrell’s Excellent Meatball Recipe, but altered to use the limited ingredients that I typically have on hand. I hope you take the time to make these little balls of succulent happiness.

Let’s get to it!

Ingredients:

• · 1 ½ tsp of dehydrated onion.
• · Kosher Salt
• · Finely Ground Black Pepper
• · 2 garlic cloves, smashed and finely chopped (or pressed through a garlic press if you want it finer)
• · Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• · 1/2 pound ground beef
• · 1/2 pound ground veal (found in most supermarkets, not really in Wal-Mart) **NOTE: If you don't want to use veal, you can use equal parts sausage and beef to make up the difference. You will, however, be missing out on the moistness and richness the veal provides. No politics here, just facts!**
• · 1/2 pound mild Italian sausage (this can be bought at your local market out of the casing)
• · 2 large eggs
• · 1 cup grated Parmigiano
• · 2 tbls finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
• · 3/4 cup breadcrumbs (if you can make your own and have somewhere to store them, power to you. I had a can of them on hand that it works just fine)
• · 1/2 cup water (plus a little extra for onions)
• · Extra Virgin Olive Oil (for sauté pan)

Hardware:

• · Mixing Bowl (I found a four quart bowl works best)
• · 10” sauté pan
• · Half sheet pan (or any rimmed baking sheet you have on hand)
• · Tongs
• · Paper towel
• · Your Hands (As Alton Brown says, they are the best mixing tools)

Cook Time: About an hour with clean up. 45 min of actual prep and cooking.

How to do it:

1. Rehydrate the onions. Place the dehydrated onions in a small bowl, cup or vessel that you have on hand. Cover the onions with water about a quarter inch. Some will float to the surface but don’t worry, they will re-hydrate too. Let the onions sit for about 10 minutes. Once they start looking like onions again, pour the contents onto a strong paper towel (over the sink, please!) and wring out the excess water. Once they are moist but not soaking, set aside.

2. In the mixing bowl combine the meats, eggs, Parmigiano, parsley and breadcrumbs. Squish the mixture with your hands until combined. Add the onions, season generously with salt and pepper. Mix with your hands some more. Add the water and do 1 final really good mixing. The mixture should be quite wet.

Test the seasoning of the mix by taking about a tablespoon of the mix, forming a patty and cooking it in the sauté pan. The mixture should taste herby and meaty. If it doesn't it is probably missing salt, add more until you find that perfect blend.

3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

4. Shape the meat into desired size. I prefer meatballs slightly larger than a golf ball since they are very versatile at this size. Coat the sauté pan with olive oil and bring to a medium-high heat (between 5 and 7 on your apartment burner depending on if it runs hot or not). Brown the meatballs on all sides. They will NOT be perfectly round after this, but they will be DELICOUS. Be sure not to crowd the pan, we don’t want to steam them. I tend to only put 5 or 6 meatballs in at a time. Place them on a cookie sheet.

**NOTE this step can be skipped if you have an aversion to frying. They won’t have that golden crust on the outside but they will still taste good! Personally, I love the crust.**

5. Bake them in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked all the way through.

Doesn't that look moist and delicious?!

If using right away, add them to your sauce or serving platter. If not using right away, they can be frozen for later use. These portions make about 30-35 meatballs based on the size you want. You can easily double it (especially since the meat is all sold in 1lb units) or wrap up and freeze the other half of each of the meats so that I can make meatballs again in a month or two.

I find that these are perfect for sandwiches. A delicious meatball sandwich can really help you decompress after a stressful day. A little sauce (I always have a jar handy) and melted mozzarella and parmesan on a buttered piece of French bread with 3 or 4 of these little happy nuggets are a lovely supper.

I hope you all enjoy these. See you next time in the tiny kitchen!

Yum

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