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After a hiatus of about half a year or so, I've started making my own pizzas again (dough and all). I bake them in a hot oven on a pizza stone with simple (homemade, if possible) ingredients. I've gone so far as to even make the cheese, but I simply don't have the time to do that very often.

My latest love (of all things culinary) is home-roasted garlic (super simple and super tasty). I make a big batch and use some on a pizza and save the rest for homemade garlic-butter (that's a whole other story!!!).

In the next year, I plan on upping the ante and building an outdoor oven to do real New Haven style coal fired pizza! For now, though, I'm stuck with our crappy oven.

This weeks latest:



Roasted Garlic, Caramelized Onions, Feta, and Pepperoni (Turkey). I'd normally add mushrooms, but forgot to buy some earlier at the produce stand. How do you like yours?

Do you make your own pizza or do you get from a chain?
Cheers,

-P

It looks delicious but could I ask how you use the roasted garlic on the pizza?

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We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love.-MLK.

Looks good P! The significant other is part Italian and we cook our own pizza from scratch every so often. He makes a really good dough, lately we've been using whole wheat flour as well. He's vegetarian, so we try to get inventive. Butternut squash turns out really well! A half kale and half basil pesto is really good too. I'm lucky enough to have a farmer's market in walking distance, so we get whatever is fresh and put it on.

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'''Greed: It ain't goin anywhere,' they should have that across a big billboard in Times Square!"
Joe Strummer
1952-2002

Just chop it up (I chopped about 10-15 cloves) and spread it like a normal topping. It becomes kind of a paste, but just spread as best as you can. I REALLY like garlic, so that dosage may be way too high (just warning ya). A little flavor does actually go a long way.

-P

I usually go for a vegetarian pizza, but I've lately been into the turkey pepperoni (even when I was a vegetarian, pepperoni was one of the few meats I missed). It's *slightly* healthier, if that's your reason, but it still tastes good.

A good vegetarian idea (if you're into it) would be to make semi-caramelized onions and drop some (8 ounces?) chopped spinach in and reduce the water content, then throw it all on top.

Toppings are personal, but the crust is the mettle!

Cheers,

-P

I'm assuming here that you've already roasted the garlic, of course…


-P

Sounds good. I'm going to try this. I usually grate garlic, but I do know how to roast it and it's something I've been planning on doing. We have a nice farmers market where I can get large garlic heads for 50 cents per.

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We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love.-MLK.

Oh, you'll love roasting them then. Chop off the heads, drizzle olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover the pan/pyrex with Al foil and bake for 45 mins at 375.

Unbelievable!

-P

That looks great P, and you couldn't put too much garlic on for me. And I love roasted garlic.

I just got some turkey sausage, and I'd prefer that to the pepperoni. I love sausage on pizza. And feta, mushrooms, black olives, and artichoke hearts.

I'll have to try the roast garlic spread next time. You don't use marinara sauce with it? Just the garlic spread? That would be good with sliced tomatoes too.

Fresh homemade pizza sounds so good.

For sauce I usually get lazy and use a no salt added simple tomato sauce that I mildly doctor with Italian herbs (probably not necessary too much). But, to be clear, this is a red sauce pizza, not white - which I tend to detest with violent rage..

-P

good thing i just finished lunch or that photo would make me even hungrier it looks so tasty.

i just started eating pizza again after a 20 year period that was half respect for my departed sicilian aunties and loathing of the stuff served in japan.

still won't eat it here, but there are a couple of superb spots i have learned of in the bay area, one in san francisco's glen park district, is excellent and had it last month.

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Everybody, sooner or later, sits down to a banquet of consequences. - Robert Louis Stevenson

Looks absolutely delicious! I do make my own pizzas quite often. I'm a total sucker for sausage and mushrooms. Recently tried a sweet Italian turkey sausage - tastes comparable to the real thing. I don't slice mushrooms. I pull out the stems and kinda break up the buttons so that there are chunks you can see. Don't make my own dough (although I have in the past) and now get it in a cannister (like the dough you get for making biscuits and rolls). Use canned pizza sauce with garlic and herb seasoning. HEAVY on the mozzarella, sausage and mushrooms, with sliced tomatoes all over the top and then a generous amount of Parmesan.
I will definitely try roasting garlic. I LOVE garlic, but have an unfortunate reaction to the aroma when it's being cooked - sneeze my head off! I'll talk somebody else into roasting it and I'll go out for a walk or something.
The cheese is the thing with me. You can never have too much cheese on your pizza.....
Sallie

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Nature abhors a moron - HL Mencken
Money can buy you a fine dog, but only love can make him wag his tail - Kinky Friedman
(American country singer and always my favorite candidate for Governor of Texas)

Garlic.. Garlic... Garlic...... That is exactly what I've been missing. That picture looks good enough to eat. I love garlic and have been missing it for quite awhile.

Thanks.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3_8wdvTjq8

I'm a Chicagoan, born and bred, therefore I'm an extremely arrogant pizza snob, and very proud of that fact. You are correct--pizza in the South sucks. It's awesome that you've started making your own.

Been doing research on the pizza oven, and it's going to be a bigger project than I planned. Probably won't happen this year (other priorities).

But I'll get to it eventually…


-P

I bought my brother an early birthday present this year. Costco had this on sale a few weeks ago. It has pretty good reviews on Amazon. <shrug>
Forno Magnifico Electric 12" Pizza Oven

Forno Magnifico Electric 12" Pizza Oven (Amazon)

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Socialism! That's that word that your politicians use that it's so nasty. Socialism. Other places just call it sharing. It's a good thing! You just share and give some to the less fortunate. -Fred Eaglesmith

Very nice! We have a pizza oven here at home that we use for cooking up Tombstones and the like. It's an older one, basically a large metal box with a heating element and a slide out tray.

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"Liberalism demonstrated at its very finest."

I'm having a craving for pizza. I think I'll make scratch pizza this weekend.

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Socialism! That's that word that your politicians use that it's so nasty. Socialism. Other places just call it sharing. It's a good thing! You just share and give some to the less fortunate. -Fred Eaglesmith

A white pie with basil and alfredo around 4:30 when the rain is coming through Tallahassee is good.

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Stop calling the cops on us.

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And of course you have not had pizza until you have had pizza straight from the motherland. (Of course while in said motherland).

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"Liberalism demonstrated at its very finest."

Believe me....this guy makes the best pizza.