Blog Party #45: 20th Anniversary Party!

Fried Gnocchi Bites with Marinara

 

Welcome back to the original online cocktail event - Blog Party!

It's been a few years, I know.  Life, eh?

 But I'm happy you're here - I've missed you!

 

I've embraced the 'china/platinum/emerald' theme of 20th anniversaries (ok, sure; that's for weddings, but I don't think there's blog gift etiquette lists out there), & hung these gorgeous strings of lights around the dining room.

 

The tables have been set with platinum cloths and platinum-trimmed emerald plates.

 

 And the jazzy sounds of the greatest hits of the (19)20's are playing!

 

Of course, there's plenty to eat.

Bites of fresh gnocchi rolled in seasoned breadcrumbs, fried & served with marinara sauce.

Astoundingly good caprese poppers: cherry tomatoes cored & stuffed with mozzarella pearls, coated in panko & fried, then drizzled with a honey-balsamic reduction.  

Little pizza bites: 3-day fermented crust topped with Fromage d'Affinois & roasted garlic, thin slices of potato, a sprinkling of smoked mozzarella, & rosemary. 

And to balance all the richness, the Paloma. Sweet & tart grapefruit & lemon juices, simple syrup, & club soda with a salted rim.

Caprese Bites

Roasted Garlic-Fromage Potato Pizza

 

Paloma

 

 

It was fun having you here after all this time.  Twenty years!  

Hopefully, it won't be another two decades until the next Blog Party...

To quote the sage...

 We love breakfast foods. 

We love pizza.

No brainer - Smoked Salmon Breakfast Pizza (for Matt!)

The 72 hour dough, the tiniest scattering of mozzarella, cracked eggs, a bit of S&P.

Bake, top with smoked salmon, creme fraiche, dill & capers.  Eat too much.

For Alex & me, it was lots & lots of cheese (mozzarella & a 'pizza blend'), eggs mixed with milk, dried sage & red pepper flakes - poured over, and chopped up Morningstar Farms 'bacon'.  Bake until gorgeously golden.

Once again, eat too much.

Save any leftovers for (gasp!) tomorrow's breakfast.

Mortadella Pizza Sandwich

 

I confess: I'm a sucker for a sexy food photo.

So when I saw the thumbnail for King Arthur's Mortadella Pizza Sandwich, I was both seduced and confused. 

Pizza? Sandwich? What?

Watching the video cleared the confusion, thankfully, and after sharing it with Matt, it went on the menu.

I've never had mortadella. I went vegetarian...oh, god.   Nearly 28 1/2 years ago!?
Wow.

I'm not convinced grocery stores in my little home town even carried the stuff back then.

In any case, I didn't encounter it until well after I'd stopped eating 'food with a face'. 
But again, now that Earth Fare is carrying plant-based deli style meats, I'm able to find something vaguely suitable for the recipe.

Matt, of course, had actual mortadella.

It's half pizza, half hot sub.  A gorgeous, long-rise dough gets stretched, lightly bathed in olive oil, folded in half, and baked in a blisteringly hot oven for a few minutes.

One last blast of heat from the broiler gives you a solid outer crust, while the interior comes out done, but softer.

Gently pry the ...bread? Crust? open, and distribute burrata over the bottom half. 

Next, add your mortadella, lemon zest and juice, roughly chopped salted pistachios, a sprinkling of red pepper flakes and flaky sea salt to the sandwich.

Close, brush the top with some olive oil, and toss on a few more pistachios.  

 

It's stupidly good.  And stupidly easy. The dough's hands-off for the most part, with a little bit of shaping right before baking. The ingredients aren't numerous or complicated. 

And yeah, it's damn sexy.

 Edited to add: I forgot to mention the grated Asiago!!!

Time Is a Construct

 

I overheard Alex saying that to one of his friends.   And he's right.

Matt & I were having serious 'This is Friday, right? It has to be Friday" feelings...on Thursday.

"We're having pizza!"  Which just feels like such a Friday thing to do.  

 

Using the glorious three-day dough recipe, everyone got a custom pie.

 

I'm not much a tomato sauce gal.  I'll ask for 'light sauce' if I'm ordering, or if making a more traditional pizza at home, sort of wave the sauce over the dough to impart the essence of tomato on it.

 

So this time, I went with a base of so much roasted garlic mixed with Fromager d'Affinois - not too much!  Just enough to cover the surface.

Next, thinly sliced already-baked potato, a nice scattering of fresh rosemary, & the oil from the garlic. 

I'd add some caramelized onions if I were to make it again.  And it'd be perfect cut into small pieces & served as an appetizer.

 

 

Alex loves pesto.  I mean, the kid loves it.

Originally, he was going to have marinara & pesto as his base.  But the pesto I usually get (Yes, I know.  I could make my own. But I'm already making three pizzas - I'm fine saving a little time with store-bought sauces) wasn't available.

However, the pesto Alfredo pasta sauce he likes was, so I suggested going with that, sans tomato. No objections.

Lots of fresh mozzarella.  Thinly sliced tomato (I cannot wait for tomato season!), some salt & pepper. 

 

He ate the whole thing, so I'm chalking that one up as a win.

 

 

The resident omnivore came the closest to traditional with a roasted garlic & chipotle paste-doctored marinara, smoked mozzarella, and lamb merguez (which we can now finally find at Earth Fare!).

I did say 'closest'. 

So we ate pizza on a Thursday that felt like a Friday but I'm writing about on a Saturday.

I don't know what time or day it is.  But I know the pizza was good.

Smells Like Heaven

 If heaven is deeply-roasted garlic. 

From this recipe, a Roasted Garlic Pizza.  But with a three day rise dough, because we're all about flavor over here. 

 

Of course it was amazing.  Everything smelled like garlic for a day or so after, but I'm not really seeing a downside. 

Birthday Pizza

Wednesday is Alex's 9th birthday.

...I know. I'm having a hard time believing it, myself.

Instead of a cake, he asked for a cookie pizza to take to school tomorrow.

And that's what he's getting.

Sugar cookie, baked in a pizza pan. Covered with red frosting for sauce, candy melts as mozzarella & candy toppings: Dots as red, green, orange & yellow peppers, black licorice for olives & Swedish fish subbing for smoked salmon.

NINE. I know!!