Margherita Pizza

Andrea accuses me of trying to eat Pizza everyday. She finds quite a bit of humor in the fact that I think Pizza is the perfect food. It has all the food groups, if you put a meat topping on it when cooking it. I've eaten Pizza in A LOT of places. Delivery, chains, mom and pop joints, big places, small places and in-between places. As the search for Pizza has gone on, Dough Pizzeria in San Antonio has taken on the role of the best pizza in the history of ever. I've been fortunate enough to do a good bit of traveling to San Antonio over the last three years. I love you baby. But I've always had this quest that I could make one heckuva Margherita Pie at home for myself. The quest has now concluded.

I stumbled across a great dough recipe last year when I was laid off. 101 Cookbooks is a blog that provided me with a wonderful jumping in place. I loved the way it turned out when I first made it while needing something to do around the house during that time period. She labeled the post "Best Pizza Dough Ever Recipe" and I would agree. At least with respect to what I can cook up at home. The Kitchenaid loves to go to town on this one. I followed it to the letter of the law. No improvisation on my part.

Since then, I've been searching for a great sauce. I tried one, and it was good. But it wasn't great. Well, I think I finally did it. I read this sauce recipe at Chef Maestro the other night. It looked simple. I thought I could do that. My problem is that I always tinker with stuff. This was no exception. What made it fun was the discovery of Kroger's Private Selection San Marzano Style Tomatoes with Basil. Yeah, I know. That's cheating. PBBBBTTTT! It made life easier. This discovery plus finding the fresh mozzarella in the expensive cheese case meant it was on like donkey kong. This is how the sauce shook out.

1 large can of Kroger's Private Selection San Marzano Tomatoes with Basil
2 small cans of Tomato Paste
Several Garlic Cloves
Kosher Salt
Onion Powder (I should have used fresh onion, but I was stupid)
New Mexico Red Chili Powder (any chili powder would work, but I love this stuff!)
Olive Oil
Dried Oregano
Sugar

I sauteed the garlic in the olive oil until it was starting to brown ever so slightly. I then added all the other products. I started with a couple of teaspoons of each spice, but ended up adding more of everything with the exception of the sugar. Shoot me for not being precise. I started breaking up the tomatoes in the sauce as it simmered over low heat. I pondered using the stick blender, but that was not necessary. It all broke down nicely over probably 15 minutes. Adjust the onion, salt and chili powder to taste. I don't like sweet, so I probably pushed the envelope the other way. Allow the sauce to cool before you assemble the pizza or it won't cook right.

The final phase in this is the ultimate construction and cooking. I cranked our oven up as high as it would go, which is 550 degrees. Call me names. I don't care. I just know that real pizzerias have their ovens upwards of 1000 degrees. I would have gone higher if I could. Shape your dough. Thin is good. Don't worry. It will be ok. I then spread a thinish layer of sauce over the top. Sprinkled with kosher salt. Slice pieces of the mozzarella to lay on top. Place a few pieces of fresh basil along with an olive oil drizzle and you slide that bad boy into the oven. I baked for approximately six to eight minutes.

I must say, I was quite pleased. I was so geeked up I forgot to snap the pics. Sorry. I poured a glass of cab and sat down to enjoy with some red pepper flakes sprinkled on top. Well done. Well done! My best pizza effort yet and I can't wait to do it again. This becomes a pretty easy and cheap way to have dinner. Never mind the left over sauce will work perfectly with some angel hair pasta hanging around in the pantry!