“So Sofie and I have come to Pizzeria da Michele, and these pies we have just ordered–one for each of us–are making us lose our minds. I love my pizza so much, in fact that I have come to believe in my delirium that my pizza might actually love me, in return....Holy of holies! Thin, doughy, strong, gummy, yummy, chewy, salty pizza paradise. On top, there is a sweet tomato sauce that foams up all bubbly and creamy when it melts the fresh buffalo mozzarella, and the one sprig of basil in the middle of the whole deal somehow infuses the entire pizza with herbal radiance, much the same way one shimmering movie star in the middle of the party brings a contact of high glamour to everyone around her."

For the dough we went with Peter Reinhart's recipe. It can be found here on 101 Cookbooks. It's a thorough, lengthy ready but worth it for the perfect, prized pizza dough it yields.

For the sauce, we went with Forno Bravo's recipe - because I desperately want one of their pizza ovens in my backyard one day.
Here's the form of the recipe we made for the Christy's Wordy Thirty event.

Use canned San Marzano tomatoes to create a wonderful, and simple pizza tomato base. Use a potato masher to get a good sauce consistency. Don’t use a food processor or hand mixer, as those will break the seeds and give your sauce a bitter flavor.

Smashed Tomato Sauce

Options

We preheated our grill to as high as it could go with pizza stones in place (about 600 degrees). We then prepared the dough, slipped it onto our pizza peel and slid it into the tile on the grill.
We let that sit with grill top open for about 5 minutes, checking it with tongs every now and then to get the crust the desired burnt crispiness. We then flipped the pizza, and then quickly added the sauce, the mozzarella cheese, and basil. We let that side cook for an additional 3-5 minutes before bringing it table-side for all to enjoy.

"The food in the South is as important as food anywhere because it defines a person's culture."

We use a recipe from Fannie Farmer's Cookbook again...

1 C cornmeal
5 medium green tomatoes, in 1/4-3/8" slices
1/2 vegetable oil or bacon fat
Salt and freshly ground pepper
6 sprigs cilantro or chinese parsley (optional)

Sprinkle cornmeal on a piece of wax paper or a large flat plate.
Dip each tomato slice into cornmeal and pat gently until cornmeal covers the surface;
turn slice over and coat the other side.
Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add tomato slices and fry in one layer, without crowding, for 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden brown.
Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Serve hot, garnished with sprigs of cilantro

There's a new tradition I want to start at the Ceberry Household, and its called Belgian Waffle weekends.

Why?

Because we have a fancy Belgian Waffle Maker and after making this recipe, which is done the traditional way with yeast, you'll want more waffle in your life too.

Here we go a-wafflin'...

Weekend Waffle Recipe (adapted from Mark Bittman)

• ½ tsp instant yeast
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 T sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups whole milk
• 8 T unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, separated
• Olive Oil for brushing on waffle iron

Grab a large mixing bowl and add all the dry ingredients. Then stir in the milk, butter, and vanilla. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let it stand overnight at room temperature. When you unwrap the batter the next morning, you'll be greeted to this puff-master delight. Yum!

Now separate the eggs. Stir the yolks in the batter and beat the egg whites with an electric mixer until you have soft peaks.

Gently fold the egg whites into the batter mixture until just combined.

Now preheat your waffle maker. We use a KitchenAid Pro Double Waffle Maker and it's La Bomba.

I brush on some olive oil on the grates before pouring the batter, and set my waffle iron timer to about 4.5 minutes. Once the iron is ready, pour in enough batter to nearly just cover the top of the grates. Then flip and let your waffle iron go to work.

If all goes well, you should be greeted to a golden, crisp, disc of deliciousness.

Put him in a warm oven, while you make the rest of his friends and your Waffle Weekend is well underway.

Now throw on some fresh berries, and whipped cream (don't mind if I do) and enjoy! Waking up the spouse and/or the kids to enjoy with you is optional.

INGREDIENTS:

PREPARATION:

basic tomato sauce

• Heat olive oil in large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and garlic; sauté until onions are soft and golden, about 10 minutes. Add carrots and thyme; sauté until carrots are soft, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes with juice; bring to boil, coarsely crushing tomatoes with potato masher or fork. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until sauce thickens and is reduced to generous 5 cups, about 1 hour. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD Sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep refrigerated. Rewarm sauce before using.

chicken

• Place chicken breast halves between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. Using meat mallet or rolling pin, pound chicken breasts to 1/3-inch thickness. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with salt and pepper. Spread breadcrumbs on plate. Whisk eggs to blend in medium bowl. Spread flour on another plate. Coat both sides of chicken with flour, then eggs, then breadcrumbs.

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add chicken to skillet and cook until brown, about 2 minutes per side, adding more oil as needed (chicken will not be cooked through). Transfer chicken to platter. Spread 1 cup sauce over bottom of 15x10x2-inch glass baking dish. Arrange 1 layer of chicken over sauce. Spoon 2 cups sauce over. Sprinkle half of mozzarella, Parmesan, and Pecorino over. Repeat with remaining chicken, sauce, mozzarella, Parmesan, and Pecorino. Bake until cheeses melt and chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Ingredients:

Directions:

Heat 3 tablespoons oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion; cook until translucent, about 8 minutes. Add chorizo and paprika; stir 1 minute. Add potatoes and broth. Increase heat and bring to boil. Add kale; stir until wilted and soup returns to boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Refrigerate uncovered until cool, then cover and chill. Rewarm before serving.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add bread cubes and sauté until golden, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle croutons with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Can be made 4 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.

Divide soup among bowls. Top with croutons and serve.