Taste Test: Habanero Pizza at Flying Pie

Habanero pizzas are only available in August at Flying Pie. It's the 19th year they've been offered and I got my first taste last night. I chose the "single" - you can get up to "triple," if you're insane. Single was perfect. Hot, yes, but not enough to make me sweat or swear, and there were no tears. The hot doesn't linger, either. Yummy pizza that's also topped with cheese, grilled chicken and black olives.

Highly recommended, but be warned. Both Flying Pie locations are extra busy during habanero season because folks love these pizzas!

Inside-Out Pizza

Hubby's experiment. After adding toppings, he rolled it up. Turned out pretty good - although some of the interior dough didn't cook thoroughly. Maybe use smaller pieces of dough for the roll-ups next time.

Thinking About...Pizza Wheels

Cooked up a box of rotelle pasta to go with the sauce last night. So...does anyone remember a snack that might have been called Pizza Wheels? I have this vague memory of being a toddler and eating a whole box of them.

Stromboli Love

This is my husband's favorite pizza of all: stromboli at Flying Pie. It's on a sourdough crust.

Pizza with Red Peppers

It had been awhile since I played the house pizza chef, since it's a hat my husband usually wears. Two pizzas were on the list. "Regular" pepperoni for the kid, and pepperoni with thinly sliced red bell peppers for the grown-ups. The pizza crust recipe we use - makes two pizzas.

1 cup of warm water
1 tablespoon of active dry yeast
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups of flour (maybe a bit more)
cornmeal

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Whisk in oil and sugar. Use a stand mixer with the dough hook and add the flour and then sprinkle in the salt. You want a satiny dough that sticks a little to the bottom of the bowl. Divide in half and roll out thin on a floured surface. Transfer to a peel (paddle) that's been sprinkled with cornmeal (so the pizza will slide off the peel and onto the pizza stone, and come off the stone easily). Heat pizza stone in a 450 degree oven. Top pizza with goodies of your choice. Slide the pizza onto the stone and bake to your "done preference." Repeat with reserved dough.

Square is Good!

A very tasty pizza my husband made last weekend. It featured pepperoni, Canadian bacon, mozzarella, pepper-jack cheese and sliced green onions. A pizza stone helps make magical pies - a gift idea maybe for someone on your list?

Pizza Disaster Averted: Calzones for Dinner

There was a mishap in getting the pizza off the paddle and onto the hot stone last night....so, calzones were served up instead. Wow, these turned out really good and now we're thinking about making them on purpose with all kinds of fillings.

Pizza Night

Look at this wonderful pizza my husband made for dinner last night. Pepperoni, Canadian bacon and minced garlic.

My Favorite Pizza "Restaurant"

My favorite pizza in Boise - homemade. Pepperoni and a sweet yellow bell pepper. My husband made this pizza last night.

Pizza Fail

Um...I really should have made sure the pizza stone wasn't covered with so much baked on debris. It made it impossible to slide this pepperoni-bell pepper-jalapeno pizza onto the stone. The first plain pepperoni pizza survived, which was just enough for dinner.

Chicken White Sauce Pizza

An experimental pizza that turned out really good. Diced sauteed seasoned chicken breast over a four cheese Alfredo sauce, sprinkled with mozzarella and Parmesan and sliced red peppers. All on top of homemade thin crust and baked on a 450 degree baking stone. (1 cup of warm water, 1/2 tbsp yeast, 1 tbsp of sugar, 1 tsp salt, 1 tbsp of olive oil and about 2 cups of flour)

Pizza - New Crust Recipe

I experimented with a different pizza crust recipe that my friend Faith shared with me. It's faster and thinner.

This is the dough: 1 cup of warm water, 1 tablespoon of yeast, 1 tablespoon of oil, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 1 teaspoon of olive oil, and a little more than two cups of flour.

It rolls out as a lovely stretch dough. I did have to let it rest a bit to finish the rolling out. Sprinkle a peel with corn meal and put the toppings on the pizza.

Bake at 475 degrees until bubbly and browned. The recipe I followed offers this tip for making it easier to shake the pizza off the peel and onto the stone: pick up an edge of the dough and give it a puff of air underneath. I'm going to fiddle with this recipe some more. I think the dough needs more flavor.

Homemade Pan Pizza

The great thing about homemade pizza is you can easily satisfy your picky eaters. My daughter had two friends over who are the typical "cheese pizza only kids." My daughter, on the other hand, loves pepperoni. And I like fresh basil baked on top of my pizza. We were all happy!

The crust is a yeast crust, it rises for about 40 minutes.

Pan Pizza Crust
2 1/2 cups of flour
2 1/4 tsp yeast
1 cup of warm water
1 tablespoon of salt
1 tablespoon of olive oil - and more olive oil to generously brush the pan
Cooking oil spray

I dissolve the yeast in the warm water in the bowl of my KitchenAid artisan stand mixer. Then, I add the salt and olive oil, and put the mixer with the dough hook on speed 2 for a few seconds, then speed 3. You may need to add a bit more flour, you'll be able to tell because the dough will make a little "tornado" with the bottom end just sticking to the mixer bowl - it's ready. Spray another bowl - big enough for the dough to rise - with the cooking oil spray. Scoop the dough into the bowl and cover with a cloth. Let it rise for about 40 minutes. Brush your chosen pizza pan with olive oil and be generous. If you want, you can sprinkle cornstarch on top of the oil, but that just means more mess when eating the pizza. Punch the dough down, and then stretch it and plop it into the pan. Stretch it to the corners of the pan. If it breaks, just patch it up, it's very forgiving. If it is too elastic and doesn't want to stay put - let it rest for five minutes and stretch again, that usually works. Spread with pizza sauce (I like the kind that comes in the squeeze bottle) and then top with whatever makes your socks go up and down. I cook this pizza on the middle rack of my oven at 425 degrees. It's done when you see the edges turn golden brown, or when the cheese gets bubbly and brown. Enjoy!