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MAR

07

2003

last night i ate like a pauper, tonight i eat like a king!

after making a bagel sandwich for lunch, i vacuumed the house a little bit and did a load of laundry after a quick shower. i went out and shoveled the sidewalk one more time, afterwards my father paid me a brief visit. i was surprised to see the photos i ordered through snapfish arriving today, they came out pretty well, now i have to figure out where to display them around the house. i went to porter square to cash a check and to buy some groceries from that star market (better selection).

about 5pm julie arrived at my place with her own bags of groceries (along with the first batch of her dehydrated fruit, we shared a dried orange slice). we were meeting to make homemade pizza, a first for the both of us. she had found a recipe online for whole wheat and honey pizza dough and we decided to make a pizza based on the buffalo style chicken pizza recipe, substituting blue cheese dressing with real blue cheese and adding some of our own secret ingredients. music played from my bedroom stereo, mambo followed by lounge music followed by dean martin (in honor of our italian food). julie started by grating her own cheese, some parmesan, some romano. then she made the dough, i was able to help out at a crucial point when i figured out how many teaspoons of yeast in a quarter ounce (1.5 tsp) using my visor calculator. because i had no roller, julie improvised and used an empty root beer bottle, kneading out the dough onto a 12" pizza pan. i started with my favorite cooking activity which is chopping up the ingredients. slices of vine-ripened tomatoes followed by slices of habanero hot peppers (which at the time i didn't realize were habaneros, but later i'd find out).

julie threw the crust into the preheated 400 degrees oven while i defrosted the frozen chicken breasts. after a quick marinade in lime juice, fresh ground peppers, and a pinch of salt, i cooked the strips of chicken using the george foreman's grille julie had brought over from her place. i have never used a george foreman's grille before. i've heard nothing but good things about it, and i remember when i was house hunting it was a very common kitchen appliance in the houses i visited. the way it cooks is kind of untraditional, but it really does a good job cooking, a lot less messy than stovetop cooking, a lot more automated (just set the timer and walk away), and even a quicker job. perhaps it's time for me to get a GFG myself. while the grilling was going on, julie made the spicy tomato sauce, which was a blend of classico roasted garlic sauce, some hot salsa, a touch of garlic tabasco sauce, and healthy sprinkles of dried basil, oregano, and a few other spices.

when the crust had finished baking, we started creating the actual pizza. first, a layer of spicy tomato sauce, followed by some tomato slices. the strips of cooked chicken came next, then the layer of cheese, parmesan and romano. another layer of tomato slices with the addition of habaneros, and then pre-grated mozzarella with blue cheese crumbs. sprinkle some spices, and into the oven it went for about 25 minutes.

julie, not satisfied with the crustiness of the pizza, set the oven on broil for a few more minutes to brown the tops before we took out the pizza. we each got twice slices and went to the living room to eat. the crust was a bit thick like bread, but the wheat combined with the honey gave it a subtle sweet taste. the pizza was surprisingly hotter than i originally anticipated, mostly due to the habaneros, which were still potent despite the fact that got rid of most of the seeds. the tabasco and the hot salsa in the tomato sauce added another dimension to this gourmet creation as well. nevertheless, it was a very good pizza, definitely much better than anything store bought.

we ate while watching girl, interrupted. i saw this movie with julie and klea in kendall square back in 1999 when it first came out. it's kind of a depressing movie, leaves me scratching my head after watching it, this second viewing didn't alleviate anymore confusion. julie wanted to see girl, interrupted instead of lord of the rings which was playing on another channel (she's never seen lotr before). after the news, julie went back home to somerville, leaving the three remaining slices of pizza for me to enjoy.