The Wine Experience

Recipe of the Week!

Chef Dana B's

Crispy Crust Sausage Pizza and Salad

Serves 4

Note: The dough for the crust needs to rise for at least 45 minutes.  Make thedough the night before or in the morning and place in an oiled bowl.  Cover it loosely with plastic and let it rise in the refrigerator until you are ready to use it.

Crust:
1 1/2 cups All purpose flour
1/2 cup Stone ground whole-wheat flour
1 1/4 tsp Salt
1 1/2 tsp Dry yeast, fast rising kind
1 tsp Olive oil
3/4 cup Very warm water
1/2 Tsp Sugar

Toppings:
6 oz Pre-cooked chicken or turkey Italian sausage, sliced thinly
1/4 cup Fontinella cheese, shredded
1 tbs Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Mozzarella cheese, part skim milk
2 tbs Onion, finely chopped
1/4 tsp Dried oregano
1/2 cup Pizza sauce, your favorite kind

Salad Dressing:

Homemade low fat dressings taste much better than the fat-free commercially prepared dressings.  To cut the fat in any salad dressing simply replace 1/2 the amount of oil with water.

Dressing:
3 tbs Olive oil
3 tbs Water
1 tbs Red wine vinegar
1 tbs Shallot, minced (or onion)
1 tsp Fresh chopped parsley
Salt & pepper to taste

Salad Greens:
1 Bag salad greens
1 tbs Grated Parmesan cheese
1 Rib celery, sliced
1 Whole Roma tomato, sliced
1 Can artichoke hearts, packed in water
1/4 cup Red onion, sliced

•  For the crust. Make the crust the night before or in the morning, and let it rise in the refrigerator. Let it come to room temp before attempting to roll it out.

•  In a food processor with a dough hook or the blade, place all of the dry ingredients except the sugar.

•  Add the sugar and yeast to the warm water and stir to mix thoroughly.

•  Pulse the food processor until the dry ingredients are combined.

•  With the blade running, add the water mixture to the dry ingredients until a ball forms. Continue to process and count the revolutions of the dough ball. When it reaches 30, stop and remove it from the bowl. Check the consistency of the dough. It should be moist but not sticky. If it's sticky, add 1 tbs of flour and process another minute. Place in a bowl coated with the olive oil and cover until ready to use.

•  For the pizza. Preheat the oven to 475 degrees and move your oven rack to the bottom most position in your oven.

•  Punch down the dough and form into a disk. Let rest for 5 minutes.

•  Sauté the sausage briefly in a nonstick skillet, remove from heat and set aside. Add the chopped onion to the prepared pizza sauce and set aside.

•  Roll or spread pizza dough with fingertips onto a round cookie sheet or pizza pan, prick several times with a fork. The dough should be spread as thin as possible (less than 1/4 inch) for a thin crispy pizza. Bake un-topped for 4 minutes. *

•  Remove from the oven. Spread sauce evenly over the partially cooked crust, add the cheese and sausage or other toppings you like and sprinkle with the dried oregano.

•  For a crispy crust, place pizza directly on the oven rack (no pan) and bake for an additional 4 to 5 minutes until cheese is bubbly and crust is brown. Let rest 3 minutes before slicing.

The Wine Experience Wine Recommendation: Barbera