Not really cooking more like an assembly

Last week I decided to start making use of my Laura Chenel goat cheese. I took the "easy route" and made a pizza using a classic flavor combination of goat cheese, prosciutto and arugula.

Work has been even more hectic than usual, so I needed something quick and low maintenance. First, I stopped at Trader Joe's for one of their whole wheat pizza crusts and some prosciutto, knowing full well that I will have spent more time in the checkout line than I will actually making my pizza. After a solid ten minutes in the express line, I made my way home and got to "work"

Step one: preheat oven
Step two: remove pizza crust from wrapper

Step three: remove prosciutto from wrapper

Step four: remove goat cheese from wrapper

Step five: wash some baby arugula

Step six: spray the base of the crust with olive oil spray and start layering ingredients

Step seven: season with pepper, garlic powder and thyme (plenty of salt in the prosciutto)

The pizza came out of the oven in about 10 minutes and I drizzled some olive oil on top. As a side dish, I sauteed some spaghetti squash and seasoned with olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder, fresh thyme and a generous helping of grated cheese. This side dish was inspired by Smunch's comments to my spaghetti squash post. Decadent and delicious! Thanks Smunch!

To me, this was about the same amount of work as pouring myself a bowl of cereal and I couldn't help but wonder would some people consider this "cooking"?

Otto: the perfect start to a bachelorette party!

On Saturday night our small mob of nineteen women descended upon Otto to kick off Jax's bachelorette. Otto had a pretty good deal for a large group. For $75 per person (without tax and tip) you get bread, charcuterie, cheese, appetizers, salad, pizzas, dessert and all the wine you can drink.

The caveat? You have two hours to imbibe and eat to your heart's content - that's it. Not bad though when there is a long night of drinking ahead but there was a sense of urgency to drink as much wine as possible and eat quickly.

The bread came with three dipping sauces: a truffled honey, roasted pears with a nice kick of pepperoncino, and a sweet cherry sauce. I particularly enjoyed the pears; the perfect balance of sweet and savory.

This was followed by a lazy Susan presentation of some small vegetable plates. Some of the highlights included roasted beets and saba, califlower "alla Siciliana" roasted in a light balsamic sauce, eggplant caponatina enriched by capers and pignolis, large mixed olives, simple but hearty green lentils "Toscana" and a I'm-not-quite-sure-how-they-did-it brussel sprouts and vin cotto.

For me, the meal could have ended here but it was only just the beginning. Next came two salads and bruschetta with roasted leeks. The leeks were pretty good, but honestly, not the best choice to eat on a night of flirting with guys and carousing with your girlfriends.

The one salad was a puzzlingly boring Romaine with thinly sliced onions sans dressing but the peppery baby arugula made up for what the other salad lacked.

As I was busy enjoying this feast with a lovely light 2005 Nebbiolo, out came the pizzas. We were given four: funghi and taleggio, margherita, bianca and pepperoni. The funghi was a bit salty but I quite enjoyed the extra salt balanced by the earthy mushrooms. The margherita was pretty good, however, I found myself wanting the crust to be a bit more crisp to compliment the freshness of the tomato sauce.

Pepperoni was a heartier meatier option of the bunch and this was not your store bought pepperoni stick, definitely house made. The bianca proved to be the most dissappointing of the four. When you have a great dough this simple pizza can excel but in this case the dough was a bit flat. Even the olive oil and rosemary couldn't help this pizza.

And just when I thought I couldn't possibly eat any more out came dessert, an assortment of gelatos with plenty of spoons for the group.

Highlights included the olive oil (only me and Chef MJ seemed to be fans of this one), an outstanding hazelnut stracciatella, vanilla, chocolate, and creamy butter pecan. After much debate it was decided that the "strawberry" was really grapefruit and the tart fruit didn't do much to impress the group.

Some of the girls were distracted by the loud clublike soundtrack of the restaurant. I was distracted by my conflicting thoughts on Otto, a restaurant I had not been to in at least a year. It is difficult to judge a restaurant by a group meal and I am not sure if Otto has jumped the proverbial shark and become yet another rustic pizza joint. Perhaps some more research is in order...

Probably not my last word on pizza...

But since it is ridiculously easy to make a savory interesting pizza at a fraction of the cost and calories, I thought I'd share one more recent venture into the world of pizza making.

Keep in mind, I do not own a pizza stone (blame it on NYC space prohibitive kitchens) but this post is pretty much geared at my non-cooking friends and loyal readers.

At my last trip to Trader Joe's, I picked up a pre-made whole wheat pizza crust; basically TJ's rip on a Boboli. Since it was whole weight and Weight Watchers friendly I figured why not? A pizza plus a salad will make a lovely lunch for the week.

When it came time to actually make the pizza, it was an exercise in pantry cleaning. I roasted some veggies - zucchini, eggplant and squash sprayed with Pam Olive Oil spray and seasoned with salt, pepper, garlic powder and a generous helping of fresh thyme and grated nutmeg.

Then came the fun part. A light Pam spray on the crust then a layer of roasted red peppers, the aforementioned roasted veggies, cured olives, spoonfuls of ricotta, a bit more salt and freshly ground pepper and then a 10 - 12 minute trip to my pre-heated 350 degree oven.

Once it came out I drizzled the top of the crispy pie with some olive oil and called it a day.

NOTE: If you are following along on Weight Watchers, the ENTIRE pizza was 24 points and it made six meals for me (along with a small side salad).

Mangia!

More from the Pizza Files: Gonzo

Gonzo is one of my favorite places to go for pizza in the city and late last week, I was able to make a return visit with Ev-O.

I started the evening off with a Gonzo Bellinitini, a delightful concoction of vodka, prosecco, white peach juice and triple sec. After navigating all of our dining options (and there was an abundance of amazing fare to choose from) we decided to split the arugula and prosciutto pizza.

The thin crust was crisp and perfectly charred with a generous topping of baby arugula, thinly sliced prosciutto, gooey cheese and a fresh tomato sauce.

I followed this carbalicious beauty with an order of rigatoni with roasted cauliflower and toasted bread crumbs. The cauliflower was so tender and probably roasted for so long that it melted into the sauce that accompanied the pasta. Toasting the bread crumbs added a nutty bite to the meal and I don't think I came up for air until I saw the bottom of the plate.

Ev-O followed the pizza with the beet salad with gorgonzola and walnuts. The appetizer portion was tiny, (note: we were advised it was small) and she wasn't feeling well, so therefore, as usual, Ms. Foodie was the glutton of this dining duo.

We did manage to have dessert and Ev-O went with the coffee gelato while I continued my high caloric journey with the pecan praline ice cream sandwich. The cookies had a meringue consistency and inside contained chocolate covered toffee. Despite the "heavy" description, the cookies were quite light. The creamy vanilla ice cream in the center was simply delightful and the fudgey sauce drizzled on top made it rich enough to satisfy my insatiable sweet tooth without going overboard.

Unfortunately, the poor service overshadowed what was otherwise a pleasant meal. Our hostess and waitress were very attentive when we were first seated but as the evening progressed, it was increasingly difficult to get anyone's attention. Ev-O had to ask twice for a Diet Coke and my glass remained empty for quite some time before I could get my hands on a wine list. Not able to properly describe some of the wines, the waitress offered me some tastes. I had to ask twice for my tastes and then chase someone down to actually order a glass once I made a decision. By this time, my pasta had arrived and I was hesitant to start eating without glass in hand.

For a restaurant whose praises I like to sing, this was a highly disappointing experience.