Pizza really is one of life’s perfect foods. It can be anything you want it to be.
I spent quite a while trying to perfect the at-home version of a Naples-style Margherita Pizza—which is still my absolute favorite. But I have to admit that, while it is incredibly easy to do (and here’s the dough recipe to prove it), I rarely have the advance foresight to make my own dough. More likely I pick up a pre-risen dough at Trader Joe’s or our local grocer. If you’re in the same boat and your store has an in-house baker, ask if they prep pizza dough. Because once you have the dough, you’re really just minutes away from great pizza.
Here’s my go-to of late…
Mushroom, Egg, Ricotta & Arugula pizza
Start by preheating your oven to 500 degrees. Make sure that whatever baking sheet or stone (we have a pizza steel) is preheated as well.
Sweat 2 or so cups of mushrooms over the stove: Place all of your mushrooms into a sauté pan with a dash of water and a liberal sprinkling of salt. Also add any thyme or seasonings you like. Leave them on the stove until they release most of their liquid.
Gather the rest of your ingredients. Once you start the baking process, things happen quickly.
You’ll also need: At least 3-4 eggs (the exact number is up to you), whole milk ricotta, salt, pepper, arugula, and olive oil.
Stretch your dough until it’s as thin throughout as it can be without getting any holes. I hold it by its edges and let gravity help, quickly moving my hands along the perimeter. If it’s springing back too quickly, let it rest a bit.
Place directly onto the baking sheet or pizza stone and pre-cook until they dough bubbles up and the bottom starts to color.
Pull out your baking rack a bit to help you access the top of the pizza. Carefully reach in and tamp down any bubbles with a fork. Add your drained mushrooms.
Next, crack your eggs directly on top. Bake until the whites are opaque and are beginning to set. This isn’t an exact science (for me), but I’d estimate about five minutes should do it. You have to decide how runny (or not) you like your yolk.
Just before they look done, I open the oven once more to add some dollops of ricotta.
Remove and finish with arugula, salt & pepper, and a liberal drizzling of olive oil. Serve immediately!
We drove up to Tahoe last weekend with friends and spent some time in Incline Village and Northstar. Sadly, this January is on track to be one the driest on record (after a promising December)—so most of the snow you see is man-made, limited to the ski resort. Still, there’s never a bad time to visit Lake Tahoe. It’s just so incredibly beautiful there.
Isn’t it frustrating how often knowing better doesn’t make one do better?
For example, I will feel sick if I eat that ice cream instead of dinner at 4pm. I know better. But to avoid it, I have to keep the sweet stuff out of sight.
So why is my phone still sitting beside me on the passenger seat when I drive, where the temptation to read text alerts (or worse, reply) is so strong?
Whereas the one might result in a ruined appetite and feeling of guilt, the other is a potentially deadly habit.
In fact, just this month, the New England Journal of Medicine released a new study saying that dialing a cellphone is the most dangerous thing you can do in a car: it increases your risk of crashing or nearly crashing eight-fold.* And a lot can happen in just the moment you look at your phone.
AT&T reached out to get me involved in their “It Can Wait” Campaign, aimed at reducing the incidence of texting and driving. And they’ve introduced me to DriveMode, their free, no-texting-while driving app that’s available on Android and, now, iOS.
I’ve been using it all week, and here’s how it works…
You can turn it on manually, or you can set it to turn on automatically whenever you drive 15mph or more (it turns off shortly after you stop). While activated, it silences incoming text message alerts and then automatically responds to incoming text messages to let whoever is trying to reach you know you’re driving. (It also allows parents with young drivers to receive a text message if the app is turned off. No getting sneaky!)
You can customize the message. The #X in this example means “I’m pausing this texting conversation before I drive.” In fact, they’re encouraging adoption of #X as a new social shorthand. Whether you use it in social media, text or email, it lets others know you’re pausing the conversation before you drive.
Do you reply to texts while driving? Do you look at your phone when you get an alert?
Take the pledge to stop texting and driving—and encourage others to do so as well—on itcanwait.com. Put the phone away and know that anyone trying to reach you will get the message; they’ll understand.
I know I’ve got at least three good reasons why it can wait, and they’re in that photo up top.
P.S. Last year, filmmaker Warner Herzog participated in the campaign by making the most sobering documentary about texting while driving (and that’s the right word to use, because More teens now die from texting while driving than from drinking and driving.)
Disclosure: While I was not compensated for my participation, I was gifted an iPhone to use with the DriveMode application. Thank you to AT&T for the opportunity to help spread the word. #ItCanWait
