Time for Tapas!

OK, I wish I had a picture of this, but I don't! We ate it so fast that there was no time for photographs to document the evidence!

This week, a couple of my best friends, Charlynn and Scott, left for Europe and are going to Tuscany for three weeks. It should be beautiful at this time of year! So last weekend, Catherine, Keith and I (the other part of our "Supper Club") decided to host a small cocktail party for them as a "bon voyage" with tapas. For those of you not familiar, tapas are an amazing way of life in Spain. You can go from club to club and have several drinks and at each stop, there are selections of amazing finger foods to match your cocktails. Actually, I don't need many cocktails ... but the tapas are amazing! One of my favorites is the traditional "tortilla" of Spain; an omelette or fritatta that contains potatoes and onions but cooked in a round skillet so it appears like a pie or in the shape of a round "tortilla". This is a recipe I plan to give in the near future. It makes an excellent lunch or dinner with a crisp, green salad.

But I have to say that the HITS of the evening were the oven fresh pizzas with amazing ingredients! This is so easy to do at home for snacks or meals. And this can be an amazingly healthy choice as you control the cheese and the toppings and the amount of fat and sodium you eat. It all starts with an amazing crust and this is the one that I use that is "tried and tested" and turns out perfect every time!

Perfect Pizza Crust

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 package of quick rise yeast (1/4 oz)
• 1 teaspoon of sugar (or honey)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• PLUS
• Additional flour for kneading
• Additional olive oil for coating dough

In the cup of water, dissolve sugar (or honey) and add the packet of yeast and stir to let it proof. In about 5 minutes, it will be very foamy and smell very “yeasty”. In the meantime, in a large bowl add the flour and make a well in the center. Add the salt and olive oil to the well. After the yeast is proofed, pour into the well and gently incorporate the liquid into the flour until a dough consistency is achieved. Once the dough holds together in a stucky ball, sprinkle additional flour on a counter and knead dough for 10 minutes until elastic and smooth. If you're unfamiliar with the kneeding process, google it and you can probably find out with pictures and everything! (I promise, it's easy!)

Cut dough into 2 equal parts and shape into balls. Coat with additional olive oil and place in a bowl loosely covered with a towel until they are double in size. (Because of the quick rise yeast, this process should be pretty quick! I usually let mine raise for an hour for flavor alone, but most of the time, with quick rise yeast a 30 minute rise SHOULD be sufficient unless the kitchen is cold.) Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Stretch or roll each circle into a 12” disc and place on a pizza pan coated lightly with olive oil. Coat the top of the dough with additional olive oil. Add your favorite toppings and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes on 425 degrees or until golden brown and puffy.

(I put the pizzas directly on parchment paper and bake so I don't use the additional oil. Because they don't have a pan underneath, they tend to cook a bit faster and get a bit more crispy. Be careful to watch them as some ovens will cook them in as little as 12 to 15 minutes in this manner ... but use your eyes and note when the tops become browned and puffy.)

Now, you can get crazy with the topping! The two pizzas I constructed for the cocktail party were simple but effective. On one of them, I shredded a generous portion of manchego cheese (a sheep's milk cheese that has a firm texture and grates like parmesean) and then scattered about a handful of pine nuts all over the dough and pressed them in to secure them. Then I added fresh spinach leaves and I cut about a cup of grape tomatoes in half and scattered those on the pizza. Topped with salt and pepper, this was an incredible taste treat, not to mention healthy and low fat! On the other pizza, I simply grated the manchego cheese and sauteed two Spanish chorizo sausages (about half a pound) removed from their casings and scattered that on the top of the pizza. I drizzled additional olive oil and baked it until crispy. Though this one wasn't as lowfat, it was an awesome taste combination and people LOVED it ... even though there were really no traces of a traditional "pizza" as we know it. You could really add anything to your pizza and bake, as simple as opening a prepared jar of pasta sauce and mozzerella, but I urge you to be adventurous, try some creative taste combinations, and leave the recipe book behind! Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

• Fresh tomato slices with black olives, artichokes, minced garlic, basil leaves and mozzerella & parmesean cheeses
  
• Goat cheese and walnuts and add fresh arugula after removing pizza from the oven
• Marscarpone cheese with sauteed eggplant and onion and dried oregano
• Crushed pitted olives with minced garlic, rosemary, olive oil and salt & pepper

Let me know if you come up with any other great taste combinations to share! As always, until next time, ciao!