Dish#1 - Pizza, Potato Salad & Garlic Bread

The project begins. Umami Tasting Parsnips - Episode 1.

This last Friday, the project began. My wife decided, it's got to be straight forward and not to complex. Also, something that we could all enjoy. So the menu was set. Chicken and Tomato Pizza, Potato Salad & Garlic Bread. She wanted to squeeze in a chocolate cake as well but I gave her the look. This is the first day lady, and she realized she is getting a little carried away with it. I could see she was hiding her excitement but its this same attitude of hers which keeps pushing us all to do better every next time. Lets Learn Urdu is one of her such example projects, where she keeps stretching the limits for our elder one. She is the woman behind this successful man, for sure.

Anyway, back to the topic. So I got my Chef's Hat ready, my Red shirt and the apron (it still needs a UTP logo) and we got going. I peeled potatoes first and chopped them down and put them in to boil. You need to put half a teaspoon salt in the water for some reason. It helps it get soft and slightly salty.

Then I got to the Pizza dough. Lots of punching and kicking on the dough to make it behave. My wife told me that Italians, the so called maestros of Pizza making, bang the batter while holding from one side, so it stretches. I particularly enjoyed this part, cos I believe that was the only element of violence that I got during the whole episode. My manly ego was satisfied. We put a little olive oil, some normal cooking oil and flour with a small packet of yeast. When the dough was round and plump and had had its share of beating for the day, it was left to swell from the wounds.

While I was kicking the dough's ass, my daughter comes and asks what's going on? Obviously the sound of beating got her distracted from her cartoons. I used this situation to my advantage. This dough has not taken care of her sister and also not been a good girl lately. So it's getting a beating. Then I went bang and bang and I think the message sank in pretty well with few gulps. That reminds me of a story from a Sindhi drama which I will keep for some other day. Its related to pillow beating.

Next came cutting the capsicum and tomatoes for the pizza and also shredding the cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese. All this was done while the potatoes boiled. I checked the softness of the potato and when the knife can go in smoothly through, they are ready to be soaked dry. They were pulled out and left to dry through a steel net.

A little time later, the Pizza dough, started screaming for attention as the wounds were paining and swollen. We were looking at some thick crust to be cooked. A little bit more kicking and punching and the dough was ready to be laid down. I mean, like strolled through the roller and made into a circle. This is where I used one of the tricks used to make it a perfect circle. Wonderfully, even my wife didn't know that one. Moment of pride. See you stretch it and stretch and then you cut a circle around it with a knife. The extra dough at the end is then put in the middle again and rolled further in. This is what they don't show you in cooking shows. They can do their pizza flipping and height reached etc but they don't show you how they make it into a perfect circle.

Anyway, it was rolled over and then a joint effort to place it on the Oven tray. I laid down the Pizza Sauce using my hands and fingers to ensure the sauce reaches where it should. This is something that mayG had done a day earlier. Next time I ll prepare the sauce myself also. Next came the cheddar cheese, boiled chicken pieces (shredded) and on it the capsicum, tomatoes and olives. On top came the mozzarella cheese. It was ready to go in. The oven was heated.

Mozzarella cheese has no real taste. It is just to bring the stretchy cheese effect we see in advertisements. The pizza tastes just as good without it but...Consumer brainwash. Man.

While the oven heated, I whipped the mayonnaise, cream and some seasoning into a thick paste for the potato salad. This was yummy. I almost had it all while whipping.

The oven heated and the pizza went in with a lot of prayers. I got to the Garlic Bread after that. Long french loaf, cut slanted (my touch) needs to be filled with a paste. This paste was made from one Garlic clove, 2 slices of butter and olive oil. A little seasoning. A lot of mashing and when the butter melts, its ready. The french loaf is not cut all the way through and rather left right till the bottom so that the loaf stays together. Then the paste is slid into the cuts. This is a skill that I developed on the job. Once done, its put into an aluminium foil and snuck into the oven.

Final touches on the potato salad where the potatoes were mixed with the paste made earlier with a spoon as the potatoes are too soft to be used with anything else. A little leaf on the top (for the look) and the salad was ready.

After a little while, the Pizza started screaming, let me out and we got it out. A little overdone but still yummy. I couldn't figure out exactly how long we put it but I believe we kept it 2 minutes too long. Anyway, it wasn't as bad as it may sound. This Pizza was filled with stuff on top, soft through the rest and it needs some teeth at the bottom of it. Not the crispy kind but something that you can't melt in but need a bite. I personally liked the touch, I would like to get the same effect again every time.



Anyway, we set the table, Pizza in the middle, Garlic bread on side of it and Potato Salad. A job well done by UTP and appreciated by the wife. I have actually done it folks. The fear is gone now. I can take on any dish that comes next.

It became such a large pizza that we had it for dinner, breakfast next day and also for lunch and dinner the next day. It was approximately 20 inches in diameter and really thick. So that's my plan. Cook something on Friday which lasts through the weekend so its a relaxing Saturday.

Feel free to get in touch with me on any further details cos I couldn't write them all in. Wow!! I did it. I don't believe it.