Welcome to Summer! Let there be White!

Joining in with Kathleen at Cuisine Kathleen to celebrate the beginning of summer and to show off our whites. I have no white flowers, except for a five pound bag, but that's flour. I have white dishes but I set a lousy table. I can however make a mean white pizza! Of course I cheat and use a dough from the pizza place. I used to use a canned pizza dough because it was really easy, you just unroll it, but found it was kind of sweet. The kids like the real dough better! and usually I keep a lump of dough frozen in the freezer for emergencies. Kathleen's event was such an emergency! Be sure to visit Kathleen's blog and see all the Summer White's that have posted!

I know this event includes tablescapes and flowers, but I set a pretty lousy table, we're more about the food. Very informal and hurry up let's eat is more my style! but I do use white dishes mostly all of the time, and the ones today came from Crate and Barrel, their white Restaurant bowls and their white Buffet plates!

We started off with a Spinach Salad with a Riesling Vinaigrette. Keeping with the white theme I figured I might as well go with a white wine vinaigrette. If you can get your hands on a bottle of Cuisine Perel's Late Harvest Riesling Vinegar, grab it! Excellent stuff. A sweet vinegar, it makes an awesome vinaigrette. I like to use equal parts oil to vinegar, even a bit more of this vinegar and a teaspoon or so of good Dijon mustard. Add some chopped shallot, salt and pepper and shake it up in a container or whisk it until it's emulsified. It's amazing on any salad!



I have made homemade pizza dough on occasion and it's really not too difficult. This is a good recipe and relatively easy, even for me, the non baker who burns mostly everything! The funny thing is I work in a day camp as a baking counselor with little kids, baking snacks all summer. They don't care what it looks like, as long as they get to eat!







Homemade Pizza Dough
This is a basic recipe adapted from many on the internet!

3 cups flour
1 active dry yeast
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons oil

For dough, beat together on, low speed or by hand, half of the flour, yeast, salt, warm water, and oil for 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Then beat on high for another 3 minutes. Turn out the dough on a clean, floured surface. Gradually add the rest of the flour and knead dough for about 7 minutes until elastic. Place the dough in a bowl, cover, and let rise for 45 minutes.

White Pizza with Onions and Mushrooms
source: Food and Wine Online, original recipe by Grace Parisi
adapted by There's Always Thyme to Cook
Printable Recipe

2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pound mozzarella, shredded (2 cups)
1 cup whole-milk ricotta (1/2 pound)
1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 small red onion or sweet onion, sliced very thin
1 handful of sliced white mushrooms, or any kind you like
Salt and freshly ground pepper
fresh minced garlic or garlic powder, to taste
1 pound pizza dough, at room temperature (I get it from the pizza place!)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan

fresh, chopped parsley or chives (optional)

Preheat the oven to 500°. Preheat a pizza stone or generously oil a large baking sheet.

In a bowl, season the ricotta with garlic, salt and pepper. On a lightly floured surface, roll or stretch the dough to a rough 14-inch round or a rectangle if using a jelly roll pan. Transfer the dough to a floured pizza peel or flat cookie sheet, or to the oiled baking sheet. Dollop the ricotta mixture all over the pizza, leaving a 1-inch border of dough. Brush the border with the olive oil. Using the back of the spoon, spread the ricotta out to the border in an even layer. Top with the mozzarella and the Parmesan, and then add the thin slices of onions and mushrooms. Sprinkle with a bit more salt and pepper.

Bake until the crust is golden and the cheese is bubbling. About 10-15 minutes. Transfer the pizza to a rack and let cool slightly. Sprinkle with parsley and chives and serve.




Thank you, Kathleen, for hosting a really fun event!

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