Grill Italiano

I made pizzas for a family Saturday and last night received a call saying it was the best pizza since they lived in New York. Now that’s a compliment. I bring this up not to brag(maybe a little) but to continue to talk about family food culture and good nutrition.

The family mentioned was wise enough to get food from me, pizzas and salad, both with fresh vegetables, a minimum of fat and great flavor. I will continue to bring you ideas and recipes so you can fill your families table with healthy food and great taste! When you know you are going to be busy, call me, I would be happy to cater to your needs (if you live in north San Diego County). Good food, family, good friends! Enjoy…

aTastefulExperience.com and see what’s cookin’.

Enough about me, let’s get back to the pizza. It’s summer, the grill is ready…so here’s my Grilled Pizza Dough Recipe, it’s really easy. If you don’t have a garden, might I suggest your local Farmer’s Market to find great pizza toppings. Whenever yeast is involved, there is usually a little practice also involved, but stick with it, it’ really worth the effort. This is a dough that will build your confidence, we’ll work on some other breads another time.

PIZZA DOUGH FOR THE GRILL

2 Cups plus 2 tablespoons warm water (100 to 110)

2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast

2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 Cup (120 grams) whole-wheat flour

5 Cups (600 grams) all purpose flour

In mixer bowl, stir the yeast and sugar into the water; let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Place both flours and salt in mixing bowl and mix thoroughly; then add to water mixture. With dough hook mix until firm, 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from bowl onto a lightly floured surface and finish kneading. Place dough in lightly oiled bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, 45 minutes to one hour.

Punch down dough (to remove any air bubbles) and transfer dough to floured work surface. Divide dough into 6 to 8 balls. You will need the dough to be about 1/8” thick, so I suggest using a rolling pin. On the floured work surface, flatten out a dough ball and with the rolling pin, roll dough to 1/8” thick. Irregular shapes are not only ok but desirable! Transfer dough to floured board or pizza peel.

In the meantime preheat grill to medium high. Have your dough ready as well as your toppings. Toppings should be precooked or ready to go as there won’t be much cooking time. Grated fresh mozzarella will cook and melt the best on the grill. Lower heat to medium and slide dough onto grill. After about 1 minute the dough will puff lightly and the underside will firm up and get grill marks in about 3 minutes. Turn, put on your toppings, cover and let cook. Set your timer for four minutes. Your grilled pizza should be perfect!

Buon Appetito!

Buon Appetito!

Welcome to A Tasteful Experience! I am Italian and FOOD is what I talk about! We will explore Italian food, cooking, nutrition and recipes. The world seems to be a wonderful and safe place when you’re at the table with family and friends. Thank you for joining me at my table. I hope you will join the conversation.

A Tasteful Experience is a unique food service offering catering, personal chef services and private cooking classes. The service is unique in that small parties and groups are the preference. Personalized meals, parties or cooking classes at your home is our specialty. Business meetings for breakfast, lunch or dinner are available.

Care and personal attention are put into every item prepared for you. I use organic products whenever possible and all products are always natural and preservative free.

Focus is on nutrition as well as taste. I cook and bake a wide range of items but our inspiration definitely comes from Italy.

Enough of me, let’s talk food! Yesterday I harvested some cabbage, nothing fancy just plain green cabbage. I already had some cannellini beans prepared so I decided to go Tuscan and have the beans with a roasted pork loin and braised. Savoy cabbage is probably the cabbage of choice in western Tuscany where this recipe originates but home grown, young green cabbage is tender and delicious. Here’s a really easy recipe for you to try.

CABBAGE IN WHITE WINE

1 ½ to 2 lb cabbage, cleaned and thinly sliced (discard the hard stalks)

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 Oz pancetta, chopped (I was out of pancetta, so I used a few slices of soppresatta

to flavor my oil)

¾ Teaspoon anise seed

½ Cup dry white wine

Salt & Pepper to taste

Heat oil in large heavy pan, add pancetta and cook until crisp, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add cabbage, stir well and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt, pepper and anise seed, stir and add the wine. Cover and cook over low heat until very tender (about 20 minutes). Check occasionally and make sure the pan doesn’t dry out.

A perfect accompaniment to beef or pork. Buon Appetito!