A little of this, a little of that, and an old dog learns new tricks

One of the great things about cooking is that, if you're attentive, you can learn just by the simple act of EATING. You go to a restaurant, and you order something new, and all of a sudden, you haev a new dish. A few years ago, I had pan fried gnocchi for the first time. Now, I cook it myself (and so it seems, does every restaurant in NYC). Or, you order something that you think is not new, and it turns out the chef has done something different, and you have a new taste combination to play with.

And sometimes, people surprise you. Last night, I was teaching two of my friends, both named Matt, to make pizza. Now, when I teach pizza making, I let the students pick their toppings. I generally do some "guiding" with them, because I don't want the toppings to be too weird or not work. For example, gorgonzola is not going to work with meatballs. It may sound good, but it won't. Nor is maple syrup and chicken liver (you think I jest about that one? Don't think that way).

One of my big "things" about composed dishes, like pizza, is that I try not to combine too many flavors. I find that when that happens, the whole is less than the sum of its parts. So when I put all the ingredients out on the table that I had for pizza making, I thought that we were going to wind up with something fairly classic, and fairly simple. After all, the Matts were making pizza for the first time, and for the first time in about 12 years.

Never underestimate the young. They both chose combinations that, honestly, I raised an eyebrow to. But, since I had said "Ok, fine, we'll do what you want," I didn't dissuade them. And ultimately, I am glad I didn't. Both pizzas were wonderful, and I intend to use these combinations in the future. They were really, really terrific.

The first one I'll tell you about, was based on mushrooms, and leeks. I had a large bunch of baby leeks , and I had suggested at one point a leek and green olive pizza. The olives got dispatched, when the Matt saw the wild chanterelles (that's kind of redundant. Chanterelles do not cultivate). And he thought that prosciutto should be his protein.

The other Matt went with hot and sweet chicken sausage, peppers and cremini mushrooms. Interestingly, both of the boys picked mozzarella for their cheese, over other options.

Now, if I had been given leeks for a pizza, I would have gone for fontina. Absolutely. But the mozzarella worked. And I wouldn't have mixed sweet and hot sausage in the same pizza. But it worked too. I'm going to present the recipe for both toppings, and if you make pizza, go ahead. But also consider them as pasta sauces, because I think that's a great use for these.

So, thank you Matt F and Matt M. Never too old to learn something new.

Matt M's recipe:

You'll need about a cup of sliced leeks. Use the smallest ones you can find. Make sure you wash them first to get rid of any dirt or grit, and then cut off the leeks where they start turning dark green, and use the lighter part. Cut the leeks into coin shapes, about a quarter of an inch thick. Get about an equal amount of chanterelles mushrooms. If they're large, half them, or else, just leave them whole. Coat your pan with olive oil, and when it's hot, add the leeks, a good pinch of salt, and a few branches of thyme. When the leeks begin to soften, add the mushrooms, and cook that down, until the water goes off. Taste for seasoning, and remove the thyme.
If you're going to use this for a pizza sauce, then top your pizza with tomato sauce, and add the topping, and then the mozzarella and bake until you have a browned crust, and a good melted topping (for a 12-14 inch pizza, this is about fifteen minutes, at 500 degrees). When you take the pie out of the oven, grate parmesan over it, and then layer slices of prosciutto over it. Don't cook the prosciutto. It gets nasty at high heat. The warmth from the pizza will soften the prosciutto just enough to "paint" the top. People will see some kind of topping through the "pink window'" of the prosciutto, but the taste will surprise them.


Matt F's sausage, mushroom and pepper topping

For this, you'll need one spicy chicken sausage, and one sweet one. We had southwestern sausage and chicken apple sausage, both from D'artagnan. Slice the sausages into about 1/2 inch wedges. Also, clean and dice one red, and one green pepper. We used casabel frying peppers, but you could use bell peppers, too. Finally, slice about a third of a pound of cremini mushrooms thinly.

Again, slick your pan with olive oil. When it's hot, add the sausages and sautee them for about three minutes. You don't want to go too far with them, because they're going to cook some more with the vegetables. Add the peppers, and season well (peppers are always insipid. Be generous with your salt), and saute for another three minutes or so. Add a branch of rosemary here, if you like (we did). Finally, add the mushrooms, and cook for another three minutes. Taste and adjust for salt. Toss the rosemary

Just like before, roll out the pizza dough, and top it with the sausage mixture, and mozzarella. And bake as with the first one. When it comes out of the oven, decorate it with basil leaves (like with prosciutto, put this on at the end) and parmesan cheese.

I can say in all honestly these were two of the best pizzas I have ever had. And I do believe that I will use the recipes for pasta sauces too. With Matt M's recipe, I'll shred the prosciutto before adding it to the other ingredients, but that is the only change in terms of making sauce instead of pizza topping.

This old dog was impressed. Doesn't happen too often.