BLT Pizza

In honor of the CPK (or California Pizza Kitchen) that is opening on Monday within walking distance of my house, and our Pizza Friday tradition, I decided to make BLT pizza tonight. Their version is pretty good, with crisp, shredded, mayonnaise-dressed, iceberg lettuce on top, but mine is better. At least I think so. Mostly because I know where all the ingredients came from, made it myself, and ate it on my back deck surrounded by chirping birds, cool breezes and the people I love the most. And honestly, the total cost to make it was probably less than $5 and we didn't have to wait in an unruly line to be seated and served by a newbie waitstaff.

To call it a recipe would be presumptuous, because it's really just a simple cheese pizza with a salad on top. But I'll give you the basic method here, and as always, feel free to give it your own unique spin.

BLT Pizza

one recipe of your favorite pizza dough

1 15 oz. can of tomato sauce

1 clove garlic, grated

1 T oil

handful chopped fresh basil, or 1 T dried

8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese

6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1/2 pound baby lettuce

3 T mayonnaise (Hellman's or Best Foods is fine)

2 t white wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

1 C cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

Preheat oven to 500 degrees for one hour with a pizza stone on the bottom rack. Let dough rise according to package direction (or at room temp for one hour). Carefully stretch dough to approximately a 14 inch circle and set on a floured surface or parchment paper. Do not roll out, or you will smoosh it and it will be flat, but rather grasp the edges and turn it around as if you are turning a steering wheel. If the dough isn't stretching easily, let it rest for another 15 minutes, covered with a damp cloth. Cover with a cloth and let it rest while you make the tomato sauce.

In a small saucepan, heat 1 T olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and stir, then add tomato sauce and basil. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat. I use this simple sauce on nearly all my tomato-sauced pizzas.

Spread about half of the tomato sauce onto stretched dough. Top with shredded cheese and using a pizza peel, carefully lift and slide out onto the heated stone (or bake in a floured pizza pan on top of the stone). Bake for 15 minutes, or until the crust is a dark golden brown. Remove from oven.

In a large bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, vinegar and salt and pepper. Toss in lettuce and tomatoes. Sprinkle on top of pizza, along with crumbled bacon. Slice into wedges and serve.

At Market...Tomatoes

Okay, I realize that they probably aren't at your market, but they are at mine. And seeing them this weekend reminded me of a very disturbing article I read recently about modern slavery, and how it is very much alive in the tomato industry, specifically. It seems that tomato farmers in Florida (and Mexico) especially are taking advantage of their workers, to a horrifying extent and most, if not all, out-of-season tomatoes that are in the supermarkets now are a product of slave labor. These workers, who are most certainly illegal aliens, have no legal means of fighting back against those who wish to abuse them, and they live in total squalor, somehow duped into working without pay. It's no wonder, with the poor sanitary habits and lack of running water, that fruits and vegetables are becoming infected with hepatitis and salmonella at an alarming rate. I almost never buy supermarket tomatoes anyway (because they taste bad), and am fortunate enough to be able to buy tomatoes year round at our farmers market. But this news gives me all the more reason to buy my tomatoes in season (or at the FM).

That being said, I'm going to torture you a bit with an easy recipe for my very favorite summer lunch (or dinner)-the BLT sandwich. The crunch and saltiness of the applewood smoked bacon, the juicy acidity of the tomato, and the creaminess of the mayonnaise sends me right over the moon. Please don't try this at home, unless it is the height of summer and you have in your possession some local, slavery-free, pesticide-free tomatoes...or you live in southern California and managed to pick up a ripe handful at your farmers' market.

BLT Sandwich

Toast 2 slices of your favorite bread (I like sourdough). Mix 2 T mayonnaise with 1/2 T pesto (you have some in your freezer, right?) and spread thickly on both slices of bread. Layer some baby lettuce, sliced and salted tomatoes, and 2 (at least) slices of crispy bacon (I cook mine in the microwave) onto one slice of bread. Top with remaining slice of bread. Bite and moan....repeat.

B.A.M. Pizza

It's Friday, and I am really trying to stick with our "Pizza Friday" tradition. One of my favorite pizzas to both make and eat is like the B.L.T. pizza from California Pizza Kitchen. But since tomatoes are hard to come by these days, I have come up with a version that is perfect for fall using bacon (really pancetta), arugula, and mushrooms. It was a really delicious way to end the week.

B.A.M. Pizza

1 pound of crimini mushrooms, sliced

4 oz pancetta, diced (I buy a pre-diced package from Trader Joe's)

2 cloves garlic, minced

olive oil

2 large handfuls of baby arugula, rinsed very well

2 handfuls mozzarella cheese

1 handful Parmesan cheese

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 500° for 1 hour.

Brown pancetta over medium heat until almost crisp. Drain onto paper towels and saute mushrooms in remaining fat. Salt and pepper mushrooms to taste and saute until moisture is evaporated.

Onto prepared and stretched crust (click here for recipe), drizzle olive oil liberally. Sprinkle garlic and mozzarella cheese. Spoon over pancetta and mushrooms and place 2 large handfuls of baby arugula over that. Drizzle more olive oil on arugula leaves and sprinkle on Parmesan cheese. Slide onto heated pizza stone and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crust is a crisp as you like. Remove from oven and drizzle on more olive oil.