April 20, 2010

i do it to freak out the squares

i made pizza last night. it was delicious. the last time i started from scratch was, well, a little bit of a disaster. the dough didn't rise, was too crunchy and (although my old roommate was a chef) we had to eat it with forks because the toppings were too heavy. this time i bought pre-made dough from the bakery in kensington market so i wouldn't have to deal with yeast and rising and all those bread terms i don't understand.

i rolled the springy, whole wheat dough with some cornmeal because we were planning on using a pizza stone for the first time. so many rules with those things! put it in the oven cold, let it heat up sufficiently, dust it with cornmeal/flour to prevent sticking and then try to slide a sloppy, dressed pizza onto it without ripping the dough, spilling the contents or touching any part of the burning hot oven. suffice it to say, i started the pizza on a plain, old cookie sheet and once the crust had firmed up a bit, transferred it to the stone. it worked! it tasted better than takeout and we demolished the whole thing in no time. i even made the sauce from scratch and it was easier than i anticipated.

i can't wait to make it again with crazy toppings that will inevitably freak out the squares. that's like, my motto for food now. phil and i were joking about having a dinner party and providing kraft dinner with hotdogs for anyone who couldn't handle our tastes. you don't like brains and sweet breads? eat this cold, boxed pasta! you're scared to try pig's face? here's a hotdog: eat the anus! sissy...


7 comments:

Unknown said...

you had better make that vegan kraft dinner with vegan hot dogs. lame-o.

Tupper Cooks! said...

Ha! Great post-I use pre-made doughs a lot-they cost 99 cents and they taste pretty good. Your pie looks good- was that fresh spinach?

STACEY MCCOOL said...

Jacquie: knowing us it would end up handmade pasta with artisan cheeses and locally sourced organic sausages... but i can make half-hearted idle threats.

Tupper: yeah, the spinach was fresh. we sauteed it quickly and wrung out most of the moisture so it didn't sog up the crust. also, yeah, the dough was 1.50 and could've easily made two pizzas. great deal!

Unknown said...

do you want a pasta maker? my ma gave me one but i have the attachment for my mixer so won't use it.

STACEY MCCOOL said...

Holy shit, really? What does it look like? Gimme a product link!

Unknown said...

yep. It isn't brand new, it didn't come in a box. but it looks just like this and is clean as a whistle and is all yours if you want it

http://images.bidorbuy.co.za/user_images/673/448673_091028170109_Pasta_Maker.jpg

Unknown said...

Your pizza looks nice and unique... =) I also tried making my own dough but it was a disaster. First, it was too heavy then the next time I tried it did not rise. Sucks