Cooking Class: Pizza

Friday still seems to be my pizza day (well, one of my pizza days) be it either for lunch with the coworkers or for an easy dinner pick up before I climb my stairs. Here in Italy though, pizza is much more the Saturday night meal of choice. I'm not sure why that is...maybe because it's easy meal before the Sunday feast?

Tonight's cooking class was one that I'd be waiting for- PIZZA!

Well, it was take one for learning how to make pizza. Granted it was more like an episode of Martha Stewart where we mixed everything together and then magically the chef pulled out a huge tray of pizza dough ready for pizza-ing but that's how you have to do it when it takes about 2 hours for the dough to rise in the dead of winter and hail is falling from the sky.

Pizza dough is super easy to make so I recommend giving it a try if you haven't before. Need a recipe? Try this authentic one that I learned tonight.

Pizza Dough (*Winter Recipe)
1kg flour
50g yeast
1cup (or so) warm water
1/2 a huge ladle of olive oil (best guess 2/3 cup)

Mix it all together (with your hands of course) until it all pulls together. Set aside for approximately 2 hours until it's increased in size.

One trick with real pizza is the crust is really thin. It's fabulously crispy with (all) the olive oil once baked so give it a try. You'll need to roll it out (with a rolling pin) and add flour as necessary so it doesn't get all over. Once in the oil (olive) coated pan, prick the dough with a fork all over to ensure no bubbles take over.

*In the summer (or warmer weather) you only use 25g of yeast and you can use cold water. People in Monterey, I think you should stick with the winter version!

We made several types of pizza:

• Marinara: sliced garlic gloves, marinara sauce, drizzle of olive oil
• Margherita: marinara sauce, light coating of shredded Parmesan, a tad of basil (add mozzarella di bufala after pulled from oven)
• Biancaneve: "cooking cream" from a box, corn kernels, cheese and drizzle of olive oil (translates to "Snow White")
• Siciliana: marinara sauce, fried eggplant (sauteed), cubed provolone cheese, and yep, olive oil
• And then that one that seems to be on every menu, except for my pizza place downstairs...the Siciliana with potato wedges 1/2 cooked

Once loaded (well, not really by American pizza standards) bake at 180C for about 20 minutes. Yeah, sorry for all the metric measurements, it's only going to get worse! 

There you have it! Of course if you really want to just make it pepperoni or throw even more veggies on it go for it. I think my favorite pizza still is the Sicilian but once the weather warms back up a tad I'll be switching back to the baby tomatoes, rocket, yummy cheese, and prosciutto crudo because it's like a salad on bread, and it doesn't get much better than that.

Back on the Boot

It's crazy just how quickly I've adjusted back to Naples. All my pre-TDY fears have been eliminated and I'm back to business as usual. Before arriving I was already planning/scheming on what needed to be done and got most of it done. (See? Business as usual!) My laundry pile still out measures my motivation, and although that's pretty standard it's a fraction of what it started as...so it can sit a bit longer...I have a blog to write!

When I eventually woke up I realized it was dark because of rain, not because it was early. It most definitely wasn't early... oops. I did have plans but luckily they were pretty flexible since I knew jet-lag was most likely going to do its thing.  Just add 3 shots of espresso though and I'm human. After a quick moment of panic about driving outside the gate I recovered with a motivational pep talk, then Ravi and I were in game mode and ready to go get Casey.

Success!

Well, in the land of coordinates vs addresses it's tough to figure out which house I was actually going to but it wasn't too hard to find and she found me!

Ravi was then ready for his first Italian meal since he'd been on 1/4 tank since Oakland. After some crazy Katie math converting units then trying to tell the attendant what I needed, we got it. Well, it really wasn't simple or straight forward but we figured it out. We're still not sure what he was asking once we established I did not want diesel but it sure was fun to try to guess. We must have made his morning since as we left we got a "you're very beautiful." Windows up, doors locked, driving on. Hey, we didn't peel out.

Next stop was Bacoli, but we really didn't have coordinates or detailed instructions. Well, I take that back. We had instructions but were too busy talking and trying to focus on the road that we ended up following road signs. All I've got to say is I'm so happy I pay attention when I'm sitting in that passenger seat. Parts of the trek were slightly adventurous but as soon as I saw the sidewalk where grilled corn is normally being sold and the intersection that I turned at, therefore avoiding "touch down Jesus" we were good. Like a pro (well, if I kept my second guessing in my head rather than out loud) I figured out where we were and somehow eventually found "the park where parking was available." Sounds sketchy right? Ravi wasn't going to have any of that so we found a lot where I left my keys with a nice man and prayed that I would be able to find the lot again and that my car would still be there. (They were a legit parking lot!)

After walking in the rain in our dresses, sandals and only one of us having an umbrella...we reached the market. It was hilarious getting looks. Apparently not many Americans are out on rainy Saturday mornings at this market? Oh well, they'll get used to me since it's going to be a regular stop for me once I move out that way! I was ecstatic to buy peaches, tomatoes, and eggplant. I think I ended up with a chilo (really, it's kilo but that's how they spell it) with each and I'm so happy. The only thing I didn't end up with was a watermelon but how practical is that to carry around town? We were already getting enough looks...

After sufficiently walking around the down town area, we found Ravi. Actually, we didn't see where they had parked it. Slight panic. Then I heard the familiar ignition start up and Ravi reappeared just like I left him. Phew. Yes, I am a protective car owner...poor Casey must think I'm crazy with how I wanted to keep check on him. Excessive? Probably but why risk it? I've been 6+ weeks without a car and don't want to do that again.

Although we were ready for lunch, it wasn't quite Italy lunch time so up the hill we went to MdP and I gave the driving tour. I really do love the town and just need to pick a place to live already. Yes, you did read that correctly, I'm giving tours of a place I've been 3 times! I told you. I'm going to live there so I need to know all about it. As we headed back down the hill I realized that I missed my "train station shortcut" so we kept going. Good thing we did because Casey spotted the most wonderful pizzeria! After some creative driving an a street side parking spot we found ourselves in the little place ordering pizza. Wonderful pizza.

As we sat and ate we noticed a menu item of pizza alla nutella. After wondering what in the world that would taste like I was convinced to try it since "we were there" and Casey leaves in 2ish weeks. Peer pressure isn't always a bad thing especially when it means you're consuming something too delicious for words. Basically I never want a chocolate croissant again...I want one of these! Nutella wrapped in pizza dough then thrown in the pizza oven? I'm going to add this discovery to the "cons against living in MdP" although it's really not a con unless you ask my thighs.

Food comas induced we headed over to the mall for some shopping. Of course by this time the rain had cleared but still not beach weather so indoors we went. With the pizza in the belly and jet lag combo, I was safe to enter the mall. You read about all the shopping I did last week- even though it's sale month here in Italy I passed on most items...because although I wanted it I didn't need it. (Even in Scarpe&Scarpe- that shoe store we found all those months back!) The only thing that I failed to leave behind was a scoop of gelato. Today's flavor was pistacchio since it came recommended last time. The color is still a little "off" if you ask me, but the mild flavor rocked my taste buds.

I couldn't think of better way to spend my first day back on the boot. Driving in the rain was intimidating at first, but once I realized it was keeping the beach traffic off the roads I needed to be on I was thankful for it. Ravi didn't get to use his voice today even though there were a lot of other cars that did. I still don't know if they were "hi's" to someone else (we were in pretty small towns) or if I was doing something wrong. All I know is, I stayed in my lane, obey the rules, and tired to stay out of the ways of others. I'm still debating if that 50km/hr sign in rainy weather is a typo or not. Really? 35mph? That's the same speed for snow too. I know I use the "hey I'm in Italy" as justification a lot but that just doesn't even work here. Of course, the fact that I'm in Southern Italy means that few traffic rules are even obeyed so maybe they did just get a discount on the 50 signs?

Let's Talk....Pizza!

Why pizza? Well, this morning around a quarter to one, I found myself nibbling on some pizza. The game was over and by staying up so late my body realized it had missed out on dinner due to an amazing lunch. So that paired with a 10 year old's retelling of what he learned in school about pizza and tomatoes while dinning on pizza yesterday, I'm passing it your way for the next time you need some trivia knowledge.

Pizza was originally thought of as a "poor man's meal" since the entire meal was in the one time. It's been suggested that pizza was created when the Romans were making edible plates and rather than eating it last, they began to eat it all at once.

Did you know that Italians used to think tomatoes were poisonous? Clearly somewhere along the line some brave soul gave them a try. History credits this"taste test" to starving peasants sometime in the 1530's,  and just like that tomatoes go from a poisonous decorative plant to pizza toppings and a main ingredient in Italian cooking.

Now I can't recall if I shared the story of pizza Margherita when I've been sampling the various versions but long story short- it's named after Italy's Queen Margherita who in 1889 visited the Pizzeria Brandi in Naples. The pizza maker that day, Rafaele Esposito created a pizza for the Queen that contained the three colors of the new Italian flag. The red of tomato, white of the mozzarella and fresh green basil was a hit with the Queen and the rest of the world.

Papa Murphy's, Round Table, Little Caesar's, Pizza Hut, or even Fattie's pizza don't even begin to compare the pizza I've been chomping down over here. There are a few key differences:

• Crusts are about 1/8 the thickness out here
• Toppings are just that- a light dusting of cheese, veggies, meat, herbs
• Everything tastes fresh (as in you don't taste the preservatives because they aren't there!)
• Since a pizza here is about 1/4 of the ingredients typically found on 1 US pizza, you can eat an entire one and not feel like a piggy! (As a pizza lover this is perhaps the best part!)

Senza bagaglio (Without Baggage!)

I never want to eat again. Seriously. Well, maybe not never again, but at least not for a few more hours and I'm thinking string cheese and crackers. Water on the other hand, I don't think I can get enough of it...funny how I'm already changing over here. But seriously. I think my aversion to water may come from the fact that Monterey was always so cold so I had no motivation to drink water, hot coffee on the other hand...

Getting to work and hanging out in my office are becoming fairly routine. Today when I walked outside to check out the weather and make a phone call to track Jessica down, I saw a friendly face- Mark! I knew he was in town but never figured I'd run into him. Then and there I realized that it's the small things like running into people that have known me for more than 4 days or seeing a sign for a NPS workshop that are motivating me to press on.

It's also a great reminder that all of them were once strangers too (you know, back when I was 23) and only after a little effort and a whole lot of work days and/or late Tuesday trivia nights did I get to know them. It's a good thing that the new group did the dinner last night to get that clock a-ticking.

Oh. I think I got so tied up in the food summary that I forgot to report in on what we laughed the most about. When the dreaded "do you have a boy friend back in the states" question was asked I gave one of my 3 standard responses: "no, I tried rather hard to keep those Army and Navy officers away for 5+ years." (Shush up right now peanut gallery...it's all about picking the correct response for the audience!) They all said I'll find an Italian man in no time, rather he will find me and I won't be able to keep him away. That's when I raised my right hand and assured them that I will be heading home with no baggage. Yep. I told the new people. So basically everyone has heard my statement, the lawyer present at the dinner may have even notarized that on 1 June 2011 I made that statement. And yes, they are going to start an office pool. Seriously though, the only thing that's caught my eye was a tabby kitty around the picnic tables at lunch today.

Oh. So I did end up eating lunch today- but it really did take several hours (6+) to  even think about food. I headed down to the pizza place on the base with 2 coworkers because they said it was really good. It looked authentic enough and it was cooked only after it was ordered. The menu was a little scary- but on the flip side if you feel like you need pizza with hotdogs and fries on it, I know where to go. Check it out for yourself- the crust was yummy but the middle a little (or a lot) gooey. Jarrod, I totally thought of your pizza preferences and I don't know if you can justify them anymore...pizza was kind of invented here!

The apartment hunt continued today with my coworker. Her speculation is the only reason Roberto showed me 2 places yesterday is so that I have to keep going back and spending afternoons with him. Oh how things are different over here. At any rate, after trying to leave the office for over 3 hours we headed to Lago Patria to check out the middle floor apartment in what can only be described as a family compound. I'm finding it normal to have multiple properties within a large plot of land where the landlords live in one of the houses and the other buildings are rented out. This was was not on a vineyard like yesterday but there was a pool, pizza brick oven by the pool, and a paved area where the owner's teenage sons were playing soccer. It was like a park- complete with fruit trees. The apartment  was a 4 bedrooom/2bath, yep, I did just say 4 rooms huge floor plan complete with two balconies. It was much more typical of what you'd see in the states...as in there were closets in 3 of the rooms and in the master room there was a walk in closet! Yeah, I haven't had one of those since college. The owners mainly spoke Spanish, but you know I feel like if I can come back from this tour speaking any language other than English I'm doing good.

Still haven't made up my mind...it was gorgeous but something within me just can't go with living in a 4 bedroom place when it's "just me." Also, I still want to go check out the Monte di Procida area since it comes so highly recommended.

Well, if things sound like they are coming together- I have to agree! My days are beginning to have some predictability and this jet lag is nearly gone (well, so I claim) and that makes the world a much happier place for me and those interacting with me. Tomorrow kicks off a 6 day orientation but even better, I've got plans to hang out with my favorite NSA professor from NPS which will be fabulous. Kinda funny that we only seem to meet up in Europe, but normally I'm watching her cat while she's off on adventures! Yep, we'll have to have a picture because she may earn the title of my first visitor*. Yep, I see that asterisk too :)