Let's Dish - National Pizza Month, October 2024 🍕
If you've talked to me in the library, you know that I am a huge fan of movies and TV. Something else I'm very passionate about (and need to make an excuse to do more) is cooking & baking. I love trying new foods and recipes and sharing that with loved ones. With this blog series, you get to come along for the ride. So, let's dish!
Did you know that October is National Pizza Month? I don't really need much of an excuse to have pizza, but that seemed like a good excuse to make one at home.
As much as I love a good greasy cheese or pepperoni pizza, my favorite is probably a Margherita pizza. There's just something about the fresh tomato, mozzarella, and basil. Really simple but delicious. I could've easily made that, but not much of a book review in that.
I picked up Truly, Madly, Pizza by Suzanne Lenzer. I've seen it go through the library before and it has some interesting toppings. I did cheat a bit by using a homemade crust I already had in my freezer. The recipe in the book seemed like a pretty basic, at least somewhat similar recipe to what I've used before, so I felt using what I had was a good idea.
The book as a whole is filled with a lot of great information on good pizza. The author's history with it, lessons she's learned, preferred ingredients, and even a reminder that pizza isn't junk food. (An aside: I hate the term junk food. Yes, some food is less healthy, but recognizing that there is no morality tied to food is important. Moderation is key. Even if like most people, that can be a struggle for me!)
The recipe I decide to try was the Sautéed Zucchini, Bacon, Fresh Basil, and Mozzarella. Zucchini has become a favorite pizza topping in the last couple years, so I wanted to try it sautéed. It was really easy and flavorful. I did end up cooking the zucchini a bit longer than the recipe called for to get it really browned and caramelized. The smoky bacon worked well with everything too. Quick tip: I used kitchen scissors instead of my knife for the bacon, for me this makes it a lot quicker and easier.
There are quite a few different topping combos in the book I'd like to try. One is the Spicy Shredded Pork with Sweet Onion Jam and Burrata. The book includes the recipe for the pork and onion jam. I love caramelized onion and can see myself making the jam and keeping it on hand for other things.
If you're interested in pizza, not just recipes, another book I picked up was Pizzapedia: An Illustrated Guide to Everyone's Favorite Food by Dan Bransfield.
It's a quick read through all about the author's love for pizza along with the history (even the invention of the pizza Margherita). It goes into the different regional variations, some of the by-the-slice New York options, tools of the trade, differences in types of crust and cheese, plus some other fun facts. The illustrations throughout are really cute
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