Greetings!
How to make food soar!
(old blog www.giddygastronome.blogspot.com)
Gourmet pizza “dumplings/buns”
Is there anything more scrumptious than a homemade crispy crust with a slightly piquant fruity tomato sauce pizza? These pizza “dumplings” turned out just the way I wanted them to and the healthy return of smiles and hugs were all that I ever wanted! Truly, this gamble paid off and I must confess that it would be a profitable asset on a “culinary Wall Street” if there was one! Boooyah! as Cramer would say!!!
The only limit to making pizza is taste and imagination!
I made these gourmet “pizza buns” by emulating the Chinese dumpling concept and as they baked, some of the sauce and the cheese oozed out making this cool design! I thought they looked pretty darn spectacular and the taste absolutely phenomenal!
Can you see how the dough cracked just a little on the bottom? This is an indication of that thin, crispy pizza crust! The savory roast chicken and homemade sausage , the sauce, oven roasted veggies, freshly grated cheeses and this crispy crust made these dumplings a smashing big hit!
There are so many tips I have to share in making this gently simmered, fruity tomato sauce, one being, adding a tablespoon of imported fruit chutney at the very end, which only dissipates into this sea of lipstick colored lycopene and giving it a slightly sweet and spicy flavor. It was so darn good, so much so, that I had to bake extra pizza dough for everyone to “mop” up this mouth-watering sauce!
I stuffed the pizza with roast chicken, oven roasted veggies, piquant tomato sauce and sausage that I made from scratch.
I just had to make a vegetarian version as well…roasted potato slices (caramelized) on the bottom, freshly grated Parmigiano and mozzarella on top of the potatoes, followed by a layer of the piquant tomato sauce and some roasted zucchini ribbons in the form of a lattice. My pizza crust always bakes crispy with a little “chewiness” in the middle! I have lots of tips here as well so as not to make the dough rise too excessively during baking! Also, it is very important to use an aluminum pizza pan because of its excellent heat conductivity and not forgetting the good old pizza stone!
As you can see there are lots of chopped basil and fresh oregano and other surprises in the dough itself. I always let my pizza dough rest in the refrigerator overnight as this phenomenon will make it rise slowly and develop its flavor more gradually and ultimately yield that gorgeous crispy crust that we so adore!
Everybody was beside themselves when I opened the oven door taking out the chicken & my homemade sausage which by the way was for the pizza! They wanted to finish it and I had to put my foot down and say NO! I am such a pushover sometimes, I gave in and had to prepare more!
My friend purchased this log home in the mountains and converted it into a bed and breakfast. It is about an hour and a half away from me on a sunny day but when it snows, it takes me longer to get there. It is about fifteen miles from Breckenridge ski resort so you know that he has a gold mine on hand!
He really wants me as a partner in this venture ( for the cooking part), but I miss my family too much during the winter when I have to stay over for long periods when the road home is totally inaccessible. Last week-end I gathered all my pots and pans and pretty table cloths and headed down there to give him a hand and on the menu were these “pizza buns” of course. Both he and the guests begged me to stay and cook some more” deliciously exciting dishes” as they put it! LOL! I do bake scones, cookies, cakes and just whatever I can and take it down to him on some week-ends.
Thanks for your visit.
love,
Nazarina.
