Pizza, the Italian invention, has now become a staple in our food culture. Far from the ‘fast food’ delivery choices, the ‘Artisinal’ pizza has taken over menus in all types of restaurants. Here in San Francisco, we have a few higher end restaurants that focus mainly on pizza (Delfina, A16, Cotogna, just to name a few). However, this post comes at a more pedestrian level for the classic dish. For a few years now I have offered French Bread Pizzas to my clients as a great way to feed their kids. Kids love pizza, kids love french bread pizza. For me, it was a throw back to my age-group swimming days, where I would pine after the Stouffer’s microwaveable french bread pizza, and enjoy it like it was my last meal as a 9 year old. I’ve since then elevated my tastes above the microwave offering, and now I make my own with sauce from scratch, and a variety of toppings depending on my mood.
It was a sunny Sunday following an epic weekend filled with airshows, late nights, and a wedding. I had oddly been craving pizza at a higher level than usual, and was considering all options on how I was going to get my fix. After some light discussion with Darcy, I rang my buddy Juice (his mother calls him Justin) and he had suggested home-made pizza. Suddenly, I became very motivated. I had a ton of pizza ingredients in my pantry and fridge. I had all the fixings to make a great sauce, 3 types of cheese, 2 types of pork, and fresh herbs. This was shaping up to be a fabulous meal. There were some missing items, like pizza dough, so there had to be a Whole Foods run. Darcy was a trooper and battled the Sunday crowds on the pizza mission put in front of her. However, Whole Foods had run out of pizza dough. Well, it actually turned out to be quite a convenience. I had, literally 2 minutes prior to receiving notification that there was no pizza dough, explained to Juice that an awesome, easy meal was french bread pizza. So, Darcy grabbed two loaves of Ciabatta bread and we were on our way to a fabulous meal.
The great thing about the bread option, is you can easily create individual pizzas tailored to all of your cravings. We went to work. I knew I would have at least 3, maybe 4 creations, so I wanted to build different flavors into each and every one. One with fresh mozzarella, proscuitto, and some beautiful arugula. Followed by a smoked mozzarella with pepperoni and mushrooms. Fontina, prosciutto, and garlic topped with fresh arugula and olive oil. We were all giddy and excited about each and every pizza we made. Jealous of others, but stingy about sharing a bite of our own creation, this was truly a fabulous Sunday eating adventure. The best part was how EASY it is. If you are lazy, feel free to buy jarred sauce, but tomato sauce from scratch is very easy. Cans or fresh tomatoes, its easy. Buy some bread, cheese & a topping or 2 and you’ll have an awesome, nostalgic meal.
Method
Preheat oven to 400* Sauce Saute garlic, and onions in a sauce pan with a little olive oil until onions are translucent. Add the tomatoes and tomato paste, along with the oregano and a healthy pinch of salt (note: when adding tomato paste, usually a small amount of water is added as well). Stir and heat over medium to low heat for about 30 minutes. You can either serve as is, or blend it using an immersion blender or food processor.
