Friday, June 29, 2018

A QUICK, COOL, SUMMER PIZZA



It’s been too hot here these past few weeks. If I can easily do so in the summer, I bake in my toaster oven for less heat in the kitchen. If I can easily do so at any time, I take shortcuts. Last night’s shortcut was to forget my regular pizza dough and make pizzas on baguette slices. Assembled, under the toaster oven broiler until they browned nicely, and served, they were just right for two.

Almost everyone enjoys pizza. We former New Yorkers lament the near inability to reproduce it here below the Mason-Dixon Line. We lament that the difference is in the sauce, or it’s the crust, or it’s the cheese and toppings. No matter the shortcomings of the local pizza, we still manage to keep all the local Italian restaurants and pizza purveyors in business.

I do favor a thin, crisp crust – one where you can fold the slice lengthwise and just the very tip may droop. My own biggest pet peeve is the sauce. Somehow, most of the locals miss on that unique combination of tomatoes, garlic, and spices.

I usually make my own pizza: sauce and crust. Recently, I’ve worked up the perfect sauce for two. It’s a derivative of one I saw on TV’s “America’s Test Kitchen,” and it suits my New York, New York-born taste buds.

Quick Sauce  for Two

1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes, very well drained
½ Tbsp. olive oil
½ Tbsp. vinegar
1 tsp. minced garlic (or more totaste)
½ tsp. dried oregano
¼ tsp. salt

Process the drained tomatoes with a hand blender or in a processor until they are still a bit chunky. Use the sauce on top of pizza for two.



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